Destined To Be
by chichirocks
Summary: This is a love story between Luffy and someone from his past. It will explore the dynamics of the Straw Hat crew and how they handle a situation that you can't get out of by kicking someone's ass.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one: Floating

The small boat floated away from the island, or at least she believed it did. It was hard to tell anything being inside a Calm Sea. How an island could stay intact in a Calm Sea was due to it being property of the Navy.

Everything on the island was property of the Navy, including the girl "floating" away on a poorly built boar that took her 10 years to make. This island was a scrap island; a gigantic trash heap filled with the Navy's discarded property. They only time she saw anyone was when the Navy came to throw something away.

The same crew came to the island every time. The same select stoic Marines, who were willing to ignore the island's only inhabitant. They never talked to her, but she remembered their faces. Why? She never knew why. She just did, just like she knew the ends and out of the entire island. She guess it was just something to occupy her time.

They came to drop off wood and steel from broken up ships, unusable gunpowder and rusted swords and occasionally torn uniforms that were beyond repair. She went through all of and organized it, hoping to find something to use. No food scraps were tossed. That would be too easy and could keep her alive and that was the opposite of why she was here.

They left her here to die. She was failed experiment, so they needed to be rid of her. She wasn't a criminal, so they couldn't justify sending her to Impel Down, but declaring that she was lost at sea and presumed dead satisfied all the bleeding hearts in the higher up.

She accepted this fact when she nine years old. She doesn't know how she survived but she knew that if she stayed on the island she would continue to survive. She knew enough about the world to know that any calm sea was infested with Sea Kings. Since the Navel trash heap was protected from Sea Kings by a Dr. Vegapunk product, she had to get off the island. She hoped and prayed that she managed to "float" far enough away from the island to be eaten by a Sea King. It was a fast and effective way to die.

She stopped looking at the island that had been her home for a decade. There was no way to tell if it was getting smaller in the distance so she laid back and looked up at the sky. Not a cloud in sight. She turned her head a little and heard the crinkle of paper. She had almost forgotten it. Reaching up and grabbing it, she read it for the millionth time. This paper was extra motivation for her to die. It was a clipping of an old newspaper that told of the demise of Portgas D Ace. She was excited about the afterlife because now she would get to see Ace again and this time he would protect her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two: Another Day

It was a typical day upon the Thousand Sunny. Sanji had just finished cooking a fantastic lunch and was preparing to serve Nami and Robin, who were lounging in chairs in the garden reading. Nami was reading the newspaper trying to see in the Straw Hats made the news again and so far not finding their names mentioned (yay!). Robin was engrossed in a book of fairy tales that she found at the last island.

"Nami-swan, Robin-chwan! Here's your lunch my sweets!" Sanji said with a twirl.

"Thanks Sanji," Nami said, not taking her eyes off the paper.

"Thank you Cook," robin replied with a giggle as she noticed their captain stealing food from the buffet table that Sanji set up.

It was such a nice day that everyone was outside and Sanji decided to barbecue on the deck. Luffy had already tried to steal from the grill, but got burnt, and was with Usopp and Chopper, singing and dancing to an upbeat tune performed by Brook. As soon and Sanji stepped away from the food, Luffy snuck away from the group and was stuffing his face. Zoro was taking a nap near the swing and Franky was at the helm guiding the Sunny to its next destination.

After the ladies had been properly served, Sanji turned to everyone else and announced that they could come eat and kicked Luffy out of the way. Luckily Sanji had the foresight to put more food on the grill before stepping away from the food. Now everyone was able to get some.

While everyone was eating the enjoying themselves, Franky saw something on the horizon that sparked his curiosity.

"Hey guys, I see something up ahead," he announced and pointed to the port bow.

Usopp went to the port side to see if he could make out what it was. He had to tweak his googles and few times but he was able to make out that it was a person.

"Hey! It's a person!" he exclaimed, "And it looks like they're in bad shape! Maybe a victim of a ship wreck."

"What!" Chopper yelled, "We need to help them!" As the ship's doctor he wasn't about to ignore a potential patient. He joined Usopp on the side of the ship and tried to see if he could spot the person, but was too short. In his anxiousness to see to the injured he didn't think to transform. Zoro had joined them and picked him up and put him on the railing, stifling a yawn in the process.

Nami and Roin causally walked over the railing with drinks in tow and Brook and Luffy took advantage of the plates being left behind to continue stuffing their faces. Sanji lit a cigarette and walked to stand next to Franky at the helm.

"We need to be careful, they could be an enemy", Nami remarked.

"I don't care! If they're hurt, I'm helping them," said Chopper vehemently. Everyone looked at him, recalling their adventure with Z, but they knew how Chopper gets, so they let it go.

The ship had gotten closer, but not close enough to the injured individual and Sanji and Usopp volunteered to take the Mini Merry out to collect them.

"How about I drive," Usopp said to Sanji. He thought, " _what if they are an enemy and they are just pretending to be hurt, but are really after me, the great Sogeking! If I drive then I can escape."_

Sanji agreed only because he had noticed something about this person. When they had reach the person his hunch was right. " _It's a girl!"_ He thought " _my Mellorine Scanner never fails!"_ he grinned gleefully.

He wasn't happy for long when he noticed the layer of caked on sea salt and dried blood. She was laying on a small piece of wood, face down and her black hair was a matted mess with brine woven through. Her clothes were tattered shreds and the flesh that could be seen above the water showed a naturally brown skin badly damaged by sunburn. She was unconscious and her pulse was barely there. _"We're lucky we found her. Any later and we would be recovering a corpse."_ He thought.

He gently moved her pliant body to the Mini Merry. Before they left the skimpy piece of wood, he saw a soggy piece of paper that he gathered and put into his pocket. "Okay, let's go Usopp," he said soberly and they went back to the Sunny, hoping that Chopper could save her.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Luffy Commands

Luffy was overstuffed and feeling sleepy. He knew that something had his crew's attention, but he trusted them to handle whatever came their way. He had little worries and contemplated asking Sanji to grill some more food for dinner.

As he stretched out on the deck with Brook next to him and having a burping contest, Sanji and Usopp came back up from below deck. As Sanji hurried past, heading to Chopper's office, Luffy's happy-go-lucky attitude disappeared.

He had seen the girl's face. It was _her_! The girl from his past who stole his heart, and left before returning it. Why she would be here and why she would be hurt that badly were the questions he wanted most desperately to know. He needed answers now! He got up from his once comfortable position and followed Sanji into Chopper's office. Chopper was preparing his supplies and Robin was there to lend a hand.

Luffy stood behind him as he Sanji laid the girl down on the examination bed very slowly. Even though she was injured he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. He felt instantly protective of her even though he knew nothing about her.

There was a strand of hair plastered on her cheek. Sanji took his hand and reached to move it, but was grabbed by Luffy who spit out a harsh "Don't touch her," command. Sanji took his hand back and looked at his captain. He noted Luffy's hooded eyes and the angry tremble in his fists. " _Well that's new_ ," he thought, " _whatever is going on in his head, I'm sure we'll find out later_." He turned to leave the room, sparing a glance at Chopper and Robin who noticed this new façade in their captain. Before the door closed behind him, he though he heard Luffy whisper, "Sienna."

A short time later Luffy left (or was kicked out) the office. He had order Robin and Chopper to whatever they could to help the girl. They weren't used to Luffy giving orders and agreed to do anything and everything to help this girl.

Outside on the deck, Luffy couldn't' stay still. He started pacing as memories of the past came flooding back to him. The others had asked him "what's wrong" and "what's going on", but he ignored them and just kept pacing.

Sanji had decided to go clean up and prepare for dinner and left Nami, Usopp, Franky, Brook and Zoro to take care of the Captain.

Never having seen their captain this way, the crew knew they were in for a wholly new adventure. The million berry question: where they ready for it?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Shocking Information

It had been four days until she woke up. Chopper and Robin spent hours on the first day, cleaning and dressing her open wounds, some had to be stitched up. She a few broken bones, that had to be reset and a lot of bruising and internal bleeding. Before the day was up they needed Nami's help. When Chopper took a short break and opened the door to ask for Nami he was surprised the Luffy was there.

"Nami?" he called, trying to ignore the angry looking rubber man next to him.

"Yes, Chopper," Nami answered. She was at the helm checking to see if the log pose was still pointing to their next destination.

"Would you come help me please?" Chopper said timidly. Luffy was really starting to scary him, especially since he demanded to know what was so wrong that Chopper needed both Robin and Nami to help.

Chopper and Robin both agreed to not tell him the vast extent of the patient's injuries. Obviously she meant a lot to Luffy, whoever she was, and there was a high chance that she might not make it. Robin had come to the door with an armful of bloody gauze.

"Captain, let us do out duty," Robin replied to him, "after all you ordered us to do so." She smiled to reassure him.

"Why do you need Nami too?" he asked, slightly less demanding than before.

"Lady stuff," Robin said and knew that it would satisfy him. He nodded like he understood and allowed Nami into the room.

Chopper followed her in and closed the door, knowing that if he didn't Luffy would be right behind them. Robin had gone to the bathroom to clean the gauze. Chopper just didn't have enough for this and had to clean and reuse them. They had run out of antiseptic but they were at least able to disinfect all of the patient's open wounds before they did so. It had bothered Chopper something fierce when he examined the many injuries. " _No one could live through all this_ ," he thought and was on the verge of tears.

Nami put up her hair and asked him, "what do you need me to do doctor?" taking him out of a ball of sadden thoughts. He put on his determine face and told Nami what she needed to do.

As night came Sanji made dinner, but Luffy refused to eat. That made everyone weary. After a heated whispered conversation between them, they all decided not to eat out of solidarity to their captain. Sanji had put the food up thinking, "I don't think I've ever had leftovers before," and joined everyone at the vigil outside of Chopper's door, relighting the cigarette he had put out hours before.

Luffy had gotten too tired to keep pacing. He was exhausted emotionally and knew he should rest and eat. He decided to rest and sat crossed legged by Chopper's door in the dark. The others went to sit around the table in the dining room and kept that door open so that they could keep an eye on the ship. For some reason, they all wanted to be together, so no one was the look put that night. They did however take a vote to determine who would talk to Luffy. They all agreed that their captain needed some comfort right now, even though he was upset and more likely to snap on everyone. Usopp was chosen (something he tried desperately to get out of) and went to join Luffy at his vigil.

"So Luffy," Usopp asked hesitantly, "do you know this girl?"

At first there was just silence for a while then Luffy sighed and answered, "yes".

"What is her name?"

"Her name is Sienna," Luffy replied with a slight hitch in his voice.

Usopp was starting to feel more at ease and felt that Luffy might be ready to open up about what's been bothering him today. His next question brought an answer the he wasn't ready to hear.

"Who is she to you?" he asked.

"My girlfriend" Luffy answered flatly.

"…WHAT?!" Usopp exclaimed vehemently.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Story Time

Luffy had such a straight face when he said that Sienna was his girlfriend that Usopp found it hard to laugh at it, but he did give an uneasy chuckle and said, "Yeah right."

Luffy didn't respond.

"There's no way you would have a girlfriend!" Usopp said. _He's just not that type of guy,_ He thought. Since this was such a heavy revelation he needed help to process it.

"Hey it's getting a little cold out here. Maybe we should go be with the others inside," He suggested. Trying to get Luffy inside to talk with the other guys.

"You go. I'm staying here," Luffy responded.

Not wanting to upset Luffy, Usopp didn't press the issue. He also didn't know what to do in this situation. He thought about all the other times information has been reviled about his captain. Finding out that First Fist Ace was his brother or that Monkey D. Dragon, the revolutionist was his father and that Monkey D. Garp, a Vice-Admiral in the Navy, was his grandfather, had come as surprises to everyone. " _Luffy doesn't talk about his past,"_ he thought, but then he had a light bulb moment. " _Luffy doesn't talk about his past because no one asks him!_ " With this thought in mind Usopp did something that he was ashamed that he never thought to do before and asked him.

"Will you tell me about her? Where did you meet her?" he asked Luffy, hoping that he would answer.

Luffy was silent for about half an hour. Usopp had given up on getting an answer and just focused on being a calming presence next to his friend. Then Luffy spoke.

"I meet her back home." He paused, unsure of how much he wanted to say. Then he began again. "We weren't together for long though. One day she just disappeared. I never got to say goodbye."

That was all that Luffy got to say, because just then Chopper opened the door.

"She's stable," he said wiping his brow. He so desperately needed a bath and some food but he would settle for a little nap. This was a hard task, and while he didn't regret helping the girl, he knew that her survival depended on fate right now. Him, Robin, and Nami had done all they could for now.

Nami and Robin had left the room via the other door to the dining room. They had agreed to let Chopper talk with Luffy and went to eat and hopefully find a distraction in the antics of the other members of the crew.

Meanwhile, Chopper indicated with a nod to Usopp that he wanted him and Luffy left alone. Usopp agreed and left silently, going back to the dining room to share what little he did learn about the mystery girl.

"Her name is Sienna," Luffy began without prompt, "she's my childhood girlfriend." He sound so tired.

Chopper sat down next to his captain.

"That's interesting. I didn't know you had a girlfriend," he said.

"Look," Luffy said with a sigh, "I don't really feel up to going down memory lane right now." Then he got up.

"Where are you going?" Chopper asked, already knowing the answer.

"To be with her," Luffy responded.

"That's fine, but I need to tell you that she is in really bad shape. Only time will tell if she would survive."

Luffy nodded and went into the room. He grabbed the small stool and put it next to the bed and grabbed Sienna's heavily bandaged hand.

Other than a few bathroom breaks, Luffy didn't leave Sienna's side for four days. He talked to her and told her about the many adventures he had had. He cried and prayed and assisted Chopper whenever he could. He slept little and ate little and worried the heck out of his crew. But, he felt justified in his actions when at last, when the sun arose on the fifth day, Sienna awoke.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Fallen For You

Luffy's face was the first thing she saw when she awoke. She saw his giant smile taking over half of his face; his dark unruly hair; his scar under his left eye and of course that straw hat hanging from his neck. The Straw Hat, that he would let her wear to keep safe. Before she could judge how she should react, her face automatically broke into a smile. Damn It! He was always able to make her smile. She had loved it in the past. Now was a different story. Now all she wanted to do was not be here.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

" _Like crap_ ," she thought but she answered, "great!" She needed to get out of here. On the verge of a panic attack, she formulated a plan. " _Alright, Sienna. You can do this. Don't cry, don't cry. Just smile."_

"Where am I?" She asked. The smile had worked. She tried to get out of bed and instead of telling her to stay still and rest, he took one hand to her back and used the other to pull her into a sitting position.

"You're on my ship! The Thousand Sunny!" her responded, while helping her move her legs to the edge of the bed.

"So you became a pirate! That's great!" she said cheerfully. She had read about his enormous bounty in the same newspaper scrap where she had read about Ace. Since it had been a very long time since they saw each other, and she was manipulating him, she figured that pretending to not know about him would aid her goal. So far she was getting out of bed and anyone with common sense could see that she couldn't stand. But she needed to stand and to walk and get off this ship. Only way to do that was through this pirate captain. When she had awoken she thought her luck was gone. But now she's been given a second chance at death. Too bad she had to do this after seeing Luffy again. _"I hope he forgives me. I don't want him to blame himself,"_ she thought.

He had started talking again, but Sienna was doing her best not to show her pain and that took all her energy. She responded with the appropriate "awesome" and "yeah that sounds like fun" whenever he paused to catch his breath. " _He's so excited. I wish I knew what he was saying."_ They had made it outside of the room and the smell of sea hit nose and made her nauseous. The rocking of the ship made her body hurt more. She noticeably shook but she thought Luffy was ambivalent about her condition. As long as she kept looking and acting normal, he kept up his happy facade.

Sanji had left the kitchen and was coming to Chopper's office to check on Luffy (Sienna). When he heard Luffy's voice he stopped short of rounding the corner and listened for a second. _"Is he talking to himself?"_ he though. _"No, don't tell me."_ Then he rounded the corner and saw Luffy propping up Sienna, who clearly looked one second from passing out.

"Luffy! What are you doing?!"

"Hey Sanji! This is Sienna. Sienna I want you to meet Sanji our cook." Luffy introduced Sanji to Sienna cheerfully. He had a brilliant idea. "Hey, I'm going to wake up everyone. Take her to the dining room and fix her some food. I'll be in there shortly." Then he let go of Sienna. Before she could fall over, Sanji was there to prop her.

"What?! No, she's going back to bed." He said. Luffy had almost made it halfway across the ship.

Without turning around, Luffy said, "are you defying your captain?" in a commanding tone.

" _What is going on with him?"_ Sanji thought. _"I don't know what he's thinking, but there's no way I'm taking her to the dining room. She's going back to bed."_

"No, I'm not. I'll have her there in a minute," Sanji lied.

Satisfied, Luffy left to gather up the rest of his crew.

As soon as he left, Sienna couldn't hold in the vomit she kept trying to suppress. She vomited all over Sanji. She was dizzy and slipped on some vomit. They were too close to the railing of the ship and with the swaying of the ship and her consciousness fading in and out she started to fall overboard.

Her last thought before tumbling into the water was, _"finally, I don't know how much longer I could keep that up."_

Sanji tried to catch her, but she had fallen before he could extend a hand. He yelled "Luffy!" as he kicked off his shoes and dove in after her.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Always Have Been

Dripping wet and irritated beyond believe was not how Sanji wanted to spend his morning. He had reached Sienna before she could sink further under the waves and brought her to the surface. The ship wasn't far and he managed to swim and carry her back to the ship. The rest of the crew was awake and working double time to help get Sanji and Sienna back onto the ship. Sienna was unconscious and Sanji wasn't sure if she was breathing. _"This is all that dumbass's fault!"_ he though angrily.

When they were on board Chopper immediately took Sienna and performed CPR. She coughed spit up water but she was breathing. He picked her up and carried her back to the room, ignoring everything else. Once Sienna was taken out of his arms, Sanji rounded on Luffy. His fist collided with Luffy's face, sending him spiraling into the deck. "She shouldn't have been out of bed! What were you thinking?" he yelled at him. Everyone else got out of their way, but watch intently.

Sanji prepared himself for a fight with his captain. He got into a fighting stance, but seeing tears on Luffy's face made him stop short of kicking in his face.

"I figured that you would be able to save her, since I couldn't." His tears flowed freely now, but he managed to smile. "I knew she was going to do something like this."

"Something like what," said Sanji, taking a deep breath as his anger slowly dissipating.

"Kill herself," answered Luffy, "before you ask why, she's always been like that. Someone told her when she was little that she's supposed to be dead and that was her only purpose." Luffy's voice cracked and he turned away from his crew, trying to hide his tears. He was angry (not at Sanji) and depressed. The person who told Sienna that awful thing was long dead and there was nothing he could do about it. It took Ace and Luffy a long time to change Sienna's thinking, but in this long absence, the progress they had made disappeared.

When she had left him unexpectedly, he truly thought that she was dead. Ace had knocked him on the head, telling him that it was stupid to think that, so a huge part in him had believed her to be alive. Seeing her again confirmed it, but he had to test her. He wanted to know if she was still suicidal. Finding out the answer sadden him, but at least now he was able to plan how to handle this. There was no way he was letting her go again. Luckily he had the greatest of friends to help him out. But first, he needed to be alone for a while. Announcing that he was going to take a nap, he left his bewildered crew. Chopper came back seconds after Luffy had went to the dorm with towels and handed one to Sanji with the order to go shower. Sanji took it and told Nami and Robin to go and keep an eye on Sienna.

* * *

In the dorm, finally able to feel relaxed enough, Luffy slept. He was confident that the others would look out for Sienna. He dreamed of food, his body's way of scolding him for not eating for last few days, and was determined to have a feast when he woke up. The deeper his sleep went his dreams turned into memories. He remembered the day he first met Sienna.

On that day, a nine year old him and a twelve year Ace had decided to test their strength against the sea king that plagued the island. They had been training for years now and wanted to see the progress they had made. Ace had a brilliant plan of trying to use a rope to trap it like a fish on a hook, then dragging it to the beach where they would be able to defeat it. Luffy was supposed to wait on the shore and knock it out with his awesome punch.

The plan failed miserably and the two brothers ended up being chased by it. Somehow Luffy ended up in the water and poor Ace tried his hardest to get them back to shore. A drenched Ace and a very rubbery Luffy made it back to the shore. The sea king roared mockingly and left triumphantly. Ace was mad. He became even madder when he heard a giggle behind them. It was coming from a brown skinned girl with curly brown hair.

"You think this was funny?" Ace yelled at the girl.

"Yep!" was all she said. She smiled.

Luffy started laughing too which earned him a knock on the head from Ace.

"Idiot! There's nothing to be laughing about!"

"Oh come on Ace! We'll get him. Let's just try again tomorrow." Luffy said as he started picking his nose.

Ace was feeling vindictive so he causally reminded Luffy of the bet they made earlier. "So…I guess you don't want dinner tonight."

Luffy's face paled as he remembered the promise he made to Dadan, that they would have sea king barbecue for dinner and if they didn't bring home the sea king they couldn't eat dinner that night. It was supposed to be motivation. Ace grabbed him before Luffy could charge back into the water.

Sienna had watched all this with amusement. She wasn't used to being around other kids her age and these boys seem like fun.

"Umm, I could get you the sea king if you want," she said.

Ace and Luffy had forgotten they had an audience and was surprised at the girl's statement. They responded at the same time.

"No thank you" said Ace while Luffy said "Yeah right" skeptically and he folded his arms.

"I think it's best that we did it ourselves. It is a test after all," said Ace.

"There's no way she could get it, Ace. She's a girl," Luffy said.

"What does my being a girl have to do with it?" Sienna asked. She was genuinely confused. She hadn't heard about girls not being able to do something.

Ace looked at the Luffy. Since Luffy said the comment, he left it up to him to answer. Luffy didn't know where he got that rationale from. He thought about all the women in his life and they were stronger than him (for now). He tried to think but it became too much for him so he quit.

"Fine you're strong. Now what's your name?" he deflected.

"I'm Sienna. What's yours?"

"I'm Luffy and this is Ace." He bowed and so did Ace. Sienna didn't know why they were bowing, so she bowed to.

When the pleasantries were done, Sienna's stomach rumbled. It was loud anough for Ace and Luffy to hear it. Ace suggested they go to Makino's bar to eat, that way Dadan wouldn't know if they ate. Luffy was excited at Ace's quick thinking and wanted to run ahead.

The brothers didn't get far before they noticed that Sienna wasn't with them. Luffy ran back, grabbed her hand and practically dragged her off her feet. She squeaked and laughed as she went into the air from the force Luffy applied. Unfortunately Luffy lost momentum and let go of her. She fell and Ace caught her. It was the most fun she had ever had.

Sometime later they were sitting at the bar top in Makino's bar, eating the best food ever. Luffy was sporting several new bumps courteous of Ace. When they were done, it was time to go home.

Sienna told them that she didn't have a home.

"That's okay! Come stay with us!" said Luffy.

Then the dream changed.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: You'll be my Girlfriend

The dream memory switched to the last night that Luffy, Sienna and Ace were together. That night, Dadan gave them permission (more like kicked them out) to have a camp out in the woods. The trio had been together for months and had so many adventures together.

Sienna was as much a boy as the other two. Luffy recalled when Makino had tried to get her to wear a dress, much to her chagrin, giving the boys ample ammo to mock her for years to come. That dress had mysteriously disappeared (more like burned to ashes) and giving the boys the most evil, evil eye she could muster kept the dress jokes at bay that night. All in all, the night was fantastic. They sang and danced and told stories. They sparred together and Sienna was the champion (totally let her win).

They shared their hopes for the future or at least Ace and Luffy did. Sienna didn't have any plans, other than living. She had long since told them about her goal in life of dying. She said that her handler was the one who told her that. She was a failure and the only reason she was on Dawn Island was to redeem herself as an asset. An asset for what, she didn't know at the time. All she knew was that her handler was dead and she could do whatever she wanted and all she wanted was to stay with Ace and Luffy forever.

"Sienna, you'll be my little sister," Ace announced, "that way you can be a part of my crew until you get one."

"Wait! I want Sienna on my crew! She's my little sister too" Luffy announced.

"Dummy! She can't be your little sister; she's the same age as you!"

That started an argument between the two over who gets Sienna. While they tried to one up each other (who's the best fighter, etc) Sienna just watched. She was feeling sad. She didn't want to leave either one of them. They were her family. She was also thinking about how she didn't know what she wanted to be when she grew up. She was a little envious of Ace and Luffy for having dreams that they wanted to accomplish.

"Hah! I got it!" Luffy yelled. By this time he was standing up. With a straight face he pointed to Sienna, breaking her reverie, saying "YOU'LL BE MY GIRLFRIEND!"

This shocked Ace into silence. When he finally recovered he asked, "Do you even know what that means?"

"Yep!" he said and sat down, glad that he won this fight.

"What does it mean?" Sienna asked tenderly. She had heard this term before, but didn't know what it meant.

"It means that we'll be together forever," Luffy said confidently.

" _No it doesn't,"_ Ace thought. But he let it go. He saw Sienna give Luffy the biggest smile and didn't want to ruin the very sweet moment.

Eventually they fell asleep. When they awoke, Sienna wasn't there. The boys just thought that maybe she had woken up before them. She would do that on occasion and they usually found her on the cliffs overlooking the sea thinking. So they cleaned up and went to Sienna's meditation spot. She wasn't there. They decided to search for her.

They looked for her for hours, searching every nook and cranny they could find. They went to all the spots she had been known to go. They asked Dadan, Makino and the mayor. They had the other bandits helping and even went as far as Grey Terminal. They tried to get into Goa Kingdom but were denied at the gate.

By nightfall, tensions ran high and blame was being tossed around. Dadan told them both to go to sleep and look for her in the morning. They looked for her the next day and the day after that. Soon it turned into months, then years. They always suspected that something bad happened to her, but there was nothing they could do about it.

Eventually locating Sienna became a sub-goal for them both. Become a pirate, find a crew and find the One Piece, then become the King of the Pirates and find Sienna were Luffy's lifelong goals. Now that he was halfway done, he refused to be stopped. Ace was gone, but Sienna was right here.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Comfortable Together

Luffy awoke to Zoro nudging him with a foot. He wasn't sure how long he slept but he felt great. Now it's time to eat! He stretched and got out of his cot. His hat had fallen on the floor so he bent to pick it up. When he stood he then he realized the look of concern on Zoro's face.

"What's wrong?" he asked his second.

"That girl," he responded, "She's what's wrong." Then he turned and left the room. Luffy was unnerved. How could Sienna be a problem? He soon found out when he left the room to head to the kitchen. He was stopped by an unbelievable sight: Sienna was curled up on Sanji's lap asleep on the bench underneath the tree.

A twinge of jealousy went through Luffy, but he wasn't sure how to approach them. Sanji saw him and explained the situation.

"Look, she woke up and started freaking out. She tried a few times to hurt herself. Brook almost made her pass out and no one could keep her calm but me. All I did was hug her, but somehow she ended up in my lap." Not that Sanji was complaining, but his legs had fallen asleep. He thought she was cute even with all her various bandages and didn't want to ruin this.

Luffy's eye started to twitch but he tried to hide his disdain for this sight. "I'm glad you were able to keep her safe for me," he said, trying to inject gratefulness rather than hatred into his voice. He really didn't like Sienna being on Sanji's lap.

"Hey I can take over, if you would like to get started on dinner," Luffy said.

Secretly glad that his captain wasn't upset with him, Sanji agreed, besides Chopper had told him that Sienna needed to be on a bland diet and he needed to see if any of the foodstuffs in storage qualified as bland.

Luffy sat down next to him. While trying to hand the very grown woman over to him, she awoke. Unlike the last time when someone wanted to take her from Sanji, she didn't protest. She stretched and got up on her own feeling a little better. Whatever medicine the doctor gave her was awesome, but it made her sleepy. She still felt achy, but that was from sleeping on Sanji. Now that Luffy was here, she could sleep on him next or so she thought.

She sighed as she looked at Luffy's serious face. Knowing that they were about to have a serious discussion, and she really wanted to avoid it and sleep. Sanji left them alone. The rest of the crew were finding other activities to do, but were still within earshot of them. But Luffy didn't care about them listening.

"What happened to you?" he asked. He wasn't trying to make her cry, but that's what she did upon hearing his first question. In the time that he's known her, she never cried. He panicked and he tried to take the question back.

"I take it back. You don't have to answer," he said trying to keep her calm.

"No…it's okay…" she said tearfully. She tried to talk but her sobs intervened. She took a deep breath to stop them.

"It's just a lot has happened since that night," she finally managed to get that sentence out. She grabbed Luffy's shirt and used him to pull herself into straddling his lap. She cried into the crook of his neck while he held her. He took a hand and rubbed small circles on her back comforting her. He reassured her and started telling her really goofy jokes trying to make her laugh.

It worked and instead of tears of sadness, she cried tears of laughter. With a smile on her face and her heart feeling lighter, she told Luffy what happened to her, choosing to leave out some things and keeping it brief.

"That night, when we had the campout I got up to pee. I was grabbed by a marine. He had put a smelly cloth over my face and I passed out. When I woke up I was on a ship far away from Dawn. They had me chained in a holding cell, so I couldn't fight my way out. I don't know how long we traveled, but when they brought up on deck it was to send me off the ship. I was in a calm sea and the landing boat was strange. It had a propeller and I had never seeing one like that, then we got on shore. They unchained me on the beach and left me. I don't know what the island is called, but I call it Trash Heap Island."

Towards the end of the story her voice had gotten small. Luffy held her tighter. Part of him wanted to reassure that she could continue if she wanted, the other part was angry and he needed to hold her to keep himself from going off.

"What happened on that island?" he asked.

"Nothing. I was on the island by myself. The only people who came were marines and I guess they were ordered to ignore me. I was scared of them at first so it was easy to avoid them, but after a while I didn't care about them."

"If you where in a calm sea, how did you get off the island?"

"I used some scraps to build a ship," she was now biting her bottom lip nervously, "I wasn't trying to escape though." _"Damn it! Why did I tell him that!"_ She thought.

"What were you trying to do?" Luffy asked, knowing that he might not like the answer.

"It was taking too long," she said, deflecting as much as possible.

"What was taking too long?" he so was not letting her off the hook. He knew the answer but he wanted her to admit it and say it out loud.

She groaned loudly, and tried to get up from his lap. _"Since when did he get so mature? Probably when he became captain,"_ she thought.

She refused to answer because she didn't want to get scolded. She didn't want the lecture and tried to get up from his lap. He didn't let her. There was as short struggle between them and Luffy ended up on top of her effectively cutting off her escape route. He had a look of determination and so did she. They stared at each other and an indescribable feeling passed between them for just a moment. Fleeting as the new emotion was, it unsealed Sienna's lips and she said, "To die."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Girl Talk

Luffy decided against lecturing her. At this point he had her now, and she wouldn't get the chance to even contemplate suicide. Smiling to show his joy at her admitting her true feelings, he got off her. Although he enjoyed having her in that position, he knew that if anyone saw he would be the one getting a lecture.

He held out a hand to help her up. Standing, they stared at each other. It was then that he noticed how much she changed. Her hair was no longer the thick honey brown halo it had been. After years of being in the sun, and uncared for, it was bleached and sparse. She had gotten a cut on her scalp so Chopper had to cut her hair to get to it. Now it was uneven. Her once caramel colored skin was darker and leathery and showed signs of starvation and dehydration. She was so skinny.

Thinking about the condition she was in made him feel beyond grateful that she was here and alive. He had a light bulb moment.

"I have an idea!" he announced.

"What…?" she asked hesitantly. Luffy's idea usually weren't smart ideas.

"How about we take a bath? You'll feel so much better afterwards."

Before she could respond yea or nay to the idea, Nami, Robin and Chopper appeared from wherever they had been hiding to intercede.

"There is no way we're letting you take a bath with her," Nami said, with a hand on her hip. Knowing how Luffy bathes, the poor girl would be more injured than healing. "You play too much! And you don't know how to be gentle."

"I can be gentle and I won't play like I usually do," Luffy promised.

"Do you think it's appropriate for you two to be naked in a bath together?" asked Robin. As she mentioned the word "naked", Sanji had come out of the kitchen to catch the end of her question.

"Who's going to be naked in a bath together?' he asked suspiciously.

"Luffy and Sienna," replied Chopper before Nami could cover his mouth.

"What! No freaking way!" Sanji shouted. His shout brought Zoro, Usopp, Franky, and Brook to join the conversation from wherever they had been.

"What's going on?" Usopp asked and before he could be stopped Chopper told them. It took a second for them to get over their collective shock.

Zoro said, "Way to go captain."

Usopp said, "Luffy I didn't know you were like this."

Franky let out a yowl of encouragement and Brook started to reminisce about the time he took a bath with a lady.

"What's up with you all?! What do you think we'll be doing in there?" Luffy asked. _"Ace, Sienna and I used to bath together all the time, why would now be any different?"_ he thought.

Soon an argument started on the merits of a male and female bathing together and whether it could be innocent or naughty. While that was going on, Robin guided an overwhelmed Sienna away. Sienna was just as confused as Luffy and felt that if anyone could help her bath it would be Luffy. Seeing how she was still very sore and needed to not stand anymore, Robin decided to take her to the bathroom anyways. Nami saw and snuck away from the conversation that was turning into something she really didn't want to hear.

Tag teaming, Robin and Nami managed to get Sienna out of her bandages and into the shower. They joined her and helped wash what was left of her hair and gently scrub away the various poultices that Chopper had smeared on her cuts to help heal them and the dried blood. Sienna was very appreciative of their ministrations, and their accommodating attitude.

When she was clean, then they all had a soak in the bath. She thanked them profusely for everything they did and it made her cry. Her crying made them cry. When they felt relief, Sienna said, "Luffy is really glad to have you two."

"Well I'm glad someone recognizes this," said Nami smugly.

"How do you meet him?" she asked.

They told her how Luffy had saved them both and she told them how she met Luffy. When she told them how she became his girlfriend they both said, "Only Luffy would think like."

"Have you declared him to be your boyfriend?" Robin asked Sienna.

"I don't really know what it means to be boyfriend and girlfriend," she replied nonchalantly. She didn't grow up normally so there was a lot she needed to learn about the world, since she was banned from leaving it on her own.

Nami had to urge to hug her, so she did and said "Don't worry. You have us now. We can school you, right Robin?"

"Right," Robin said delightedly.

"You know," said Nami, letting go of Sienna, "you and Luffy are so made for each other."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: One Moment in Time

Dinner was a feast. Luffy had plate, after plate, after plate. He ate enough food to feed fifty people, but no one complained. Sanji had enough for everyone to get at least get seconds. Nami had checked and they were close to the next island. They would make landfall some time during the night. Luffy didn't want the party to end so everyone was out on the deck enjoy the night air. The weather was perfect and Nami hinted that the next island would be a summer one.

Cooking made Sanji so proud. Seeing the joy on everyone's faces after they tasted his cooking was the most amazing feeling ever.

He really enjoyed watching Sienna eat, even though Chopper made her only eat a bowl of mushy rice and drink milk, which she protested. But he managed to convince her to drink at least half a glass. His main concern was water. He recommended that she drink a liter of water every two hours. Luffy had made a joke about the bathroom being her room since she'll need the toilet every second and Sanji knew that the chances of her following Chopper's recommendation were slim now. Still, she kept the food down and was out enjoying the festivities with the others.

Sanji decided to clean the kitchen and dining room. It wasn't as dirty as he thought, but the amount of dishes gave him a headache. When he was just finishing up the dishes, Sienna had come in.

"Hello," he said, for some reason he was nervous, "did you want some more to eat?"

"No I came for more water," she said holding up her designated pitcher.

"Okay," he put down the rag and dried his hands. Then he fetched another pitcher he had filled from the cooler and handed it to her, taking the empty one. She watched him intently the whole time. Their hands met briefly during the hand over. She smiled and he smiled. He wanted nothing more than to hold her hand and stare into her big brown eyes, but they both forgot the pitchers and they fell to the floor. Luckily they didn't break, but the water spilt.

"Damn it!" exclaimed Sanji. He grabbed a dry napkin and crouched down to wipe it up. Sienna crouched as well to pick up the pitchers.

"I got it, you don't have to do that," said Sanji.

"It's fine, I like to help," she said. She put the pitchers on the table and stood up too fast and it made her dizzy. She used the table to steady herself.

Sanji was instantly concerned and fussed over her until she was seated at the table with a cool rag on the back of her neck; she had gotten nauseous from the dizzy spell. Sanji left to ask Usopp if he would draw more water from extra barrels below and came back to finish cleaning and keeping an eye on Sienna.

Without any preamble she said, "I like you," and left it at that.

She was defiantly feeling better. She was also grateful for Sanji's help. The last thing she wanted was Doctor Chopper finding out about the dizzy spell. He would probably send her to bed and she so didn't want to be told what to do.

She had only known the crew for a few hours, but she could tell that they cared a lot about her. The vivacious Nami and the mature Robin were her big sisters. She didn't know what title to give the others yet, but she like them all. She liked Sanji a lot. He reminded her of Ace. With that thought in mind she asked Sanji if he wanted to be her big brother.

Crushing the disappointment that coursed through his mind, he agreed.

"Yay!" she squealed and clapped her hands once. "I'm glad. Nami and Robin said that you were a pervert and to stay away from you."

"Why would they say something like that," he practically growled that statement.

Sienna shrugged. Changing the subject she said, "Hey Luffy said that you were an awesome fighter. Would you spar with me when I get better?" she asked.

"I can't," Sanji said.

"Why not?" she pouted.

"Because I don't hit women," explained Sanji.

Her pout became more exaggerated and she slumped in her chair. "That sucks," she said through pursed lips and crossed arms.

Sanji couldn't help but laugh at her expression. It was definitely cute and it caused a stirring inside him. He suddenly wanted to kiss her. _"Okay where did that come from?"_ he thought. He tried to hide it by laughing at her.

His laughter made her giggle. When her giggles subsided she said, "So we can't spar. There has to be something we can do together. Robin suggests that getting to know everyone and learning from them would help me."

She listed off the planned activities she has for the week. "Let's see I got to have a checkup every day with Chopper. Then I have math lessons with Nami and history lessons with Robin. Franky and Usopp said they'll show me how the ship operates. Brook said he'll teach me how to sing. Zoro and Luffy are going to spar with me. That just leaves you." Before Sanji could respond, she added, "I need to stay busy."

"Well I'm the cook. You can be my Sous Chef," he said excitedly.

She looked a little unsure and said, "I don't know what to do in a kitchen. I know how to eat, but that's it."

"As long as you pay attention and not play around like _someone_ we know I can teach you," he said.

"Okay," she nodded with determination, "I can do it."

Sanji was very excited. _"Yes!"_ he thought eagerly.

Now that was done, Sienna decided to go to bed. Until they could formally outfit the ship for her arrival, she would sleep in Chopper's office. Sanji walked her to bed and assisted her by pulling off the house shoes she wore. Sanji offered to tuck her in, but she stuck her tongue out at him playfully and said she was fine.

" _Seriously I have way too many helpers,"_ thought a slightly annoyed Sienna. She was asleep in a matter of moments.

Sanji left her, thinking about what he really wanted her tongue to do.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Ready for the First Adventure

Sienna was awoken a couple of hours later. They had spotted the island and Luffy wanted her to see it. He gently touched her shoulders and said her name softly. She sighed but turned away from him.

"Sienna, the island's in sight. Wanna see it?" he asked, crouching down to be eye level with her. She opened one eye to look at him. He was too eager for her. Her medications made her sleep deeply and she disliked being woken up.

She groaned, "Not really" and tried to pull the blanket above her head. Luffy let her, but reminded her of how much water she had had. That triggered her bladder and she suddenly had a great need to pee.

In a panic and trying to rush she ended up tangled in the blankets. Luffy laughed and that frustrated her. "Will you help me?!" she demanded. With one pull he unraveled her and rushed her to the bathroom. She made it just in time.

When done, she called him a jerk and wanted to punch him in the face. She gave him narrowed eyes and he held up his hands and apologized, sort of.

"I'm sorry (not really), but now you can come and sit with me in my favorite spot" he said.

She was about to protest until she saw the massive landmass up ahead. She was in awe and Luffy, seeing the wonder on her face, grabbed her hand and lead her to the lion headed bowsprit. There he positioned himself with Sienna in his lap. Most of the crew was asleep. Franky was at the helm, but when he saw Luffy and Sienna together he decided to let them have some private time and left. The ship would be fine for while.

Luffy and Sienna didn't talk. They just enjoyed being with each other. Luffy held her to keep her from falling and she relaxed into him.

After some time had passed Sienna broke the serene silence. "I know about Ace," she said. She had been thinking about all the stories Luffy has told her and not one of them mentioned Ace's death. "It's one of the reasons I decided to get off Trash Heap Island."

Luffy didn't want to talk about Ace's death. He may have come to terms with it, but it was still hard to talk about. He was glad that he had found Sienna again and only wanted to think about their future together. But, thinking about Ace made him think about Sabo.

"Hey you remember the other brother we told you about?" he asked.

"Yeah…the one that died before we met. What was his name?" she inquired.

"Sabo," he said joyfully, "it turns out he didn't die!"

"Really? Kind of like me?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, he joined the Revolutionary Army. He met my dad."

Then Luffy told her about his dad and how Ace and Sabo weren't his blood brothers. Sienna didn't know any of that, but them not being blood brothers didn't matter to her when she was nine and it didn't matter now. She was glad that Luffy had reconnected with Sabo, but she could tell that he had changed the subject to not talk about Ace. It wasn't fine with her, but she let it go for now and listened to him talk about his time in a coliseum in the country of Dressrosa. Eventually his soothing voice made her doze off. She awoke when he was carrying her to bed and managed to get out a sleepy thank you before he placed her in bed. Luffy was tired but didn't want to leave her. He decided to crawl into bed with her and that's where his crew found him came morning.

* * *

Sanji was ticked to find them together. Of course the other guys didn't make things easier. Everyone had gathered at Chopper's office. They all were astounded by the image of Luffy and Sienna in bed together. Granted it was innocent. Luffy was snoring and hanging halfway off the bed, with Sienna in a blanket cocoon. Sanji lit a cigarette and stalked off to kitchen, needing to get breakfast done and pack lunches.

"LUUUUFFFFFYYY!" Nami yelled, waking up Luffy, who jumped up like he was in trouble.

"What's up," he said, trying to fight his sleepiness.

Nami pointed to the door and said, "OUT!"

Luffy acquiesced to her command and left noticing that it was daylight. He was excited because they had reached the island and it looked like fun. He told his crew to get ready to disembark for an adventure.

Sienna woke up a lot slower than Luffy. She looked forward to getting off the ship, but she had to have a check up with Chopper first. He gave her a through exam and told her that if she could pace herself she should be okay to disembark. Then Nami and Robin helped her dress. She was still wearing bandages and they had to find something to go over them. The women didn't have anything she could fit, so they ended up having to borrow clothes from the guys. Then they spent a considerable amount of time on her hair.

Luffy was impatient to leave and could care less how she looked. By the time the women were ready it was past noon. Having a conniption fit, Luffy got on everyone's nerves. He was stilled when he saw Sienna, finally ready to go.

She looked beautiful. She felt ridiculous. Forced to wear a lace frilly shirt from Brook and pants from Zoro and she felt self conscious because never had to impress someone until now. It didn't help that Luffy stared at her open mouthed and Sanji eye's wear replaced with hearts. Brook cooed at how good his shirt looked on her and Zoro wanted his pants back.

* * *

Nami ushered everyone to the Mini Merry. Sienna, Sanji (with the food), Chopper and Robin rode the Mini Merry to shore. It had been a while since Nami had rode her White Hobby Horse waver so she gladly rode it now. Luffy flung himself, Zoro and Usopp over, much to their annoyance. Sanji took the Mini Merry back and got Brook and Franky.

With everyone on the beach, Sanji set up both breakfast and lunch and they had a picnic on the beach. Filling full, Luffy declared it was time to explore the Island.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Strange Island

Luffy, Usopp, Franky and Brook decided to explore. Nami and Robin stayed with Sienna who was commanded by Chopper not to overexert herself. They stripped to swimsuits (Sienna stayed clothed) to sunbath on the beach. Sanji couldn't pass up the chance to see the ladies in swim wear so he declared himself to be their knight of love and stayed behind to protect (ogle) the ladies. Zoro had passed out underneath a shady tree from all the alcohol he had consumed long before Luffy finished eating.

Chopper couldn't decide if he wanted to explore with the "Men" or stay with the girls. Franky and Usopp had made various man-ly poses while Brook made a skeleton joke about not being man enough either. The choice was made for him when Luffy went ahead and the other three had no choice but to follow and Chopper was left behind. It wasn't so bad. It was very relaxing. Sienna told stories about Luffy and Ace while Sanji catered to the ladies' every whim (fetching items from the ship, making drinks, offering to rub sun screen on their backs but being rejected). Eventually Sienna and Chopper fell asleep and the others just enjoyed not having anything to do.

They were completely surprised when a group of marines showed up.

* * *

Luffy was beyond excited to explore. The island had a jungle beyond the beach. He wanted to bring something back for Sienna. He saw lots of things he wanted (funny looking plants, strange animals) but was denied by the others because they all looked too dangerous (definitely didn't helped that the plants looked poisonous and the animals chased them). Eventually they came upon and a paved path. That led them to a small village.

The village was made up of a few mud huts. The jungle ended once the village began and nothing was left in the clearing but grass. The village looked abandoned. Luffy went from hut to hut looking for people.

"Hellloooo" he yelled into the first hut.

"Luffy! We shouldn't be doing that," admonished Usopp. His "I-Can't-Be-In-A-Creepy-Scary-Village" disease was acting up.

"Don't worry its fine. No one's here," said Luffy.

Brook was getting unsettled as well. He started to tremble and his "bone's rattled" and he laughed, "yohohohoho!"

Franky went into another hut and did some investigating. _"There's a layer of dirt on the floor,"_ he thought, _"no furniture, nor any personal items. Hmm, this place has been empty for a long time."_

While he pondered the state of things, he heard footsteps outside. A lot of them. He left the hut hurriedly and found Luffy and the others. They had heard the steps as well. They went to the center of the village, back to back, preparing for whatever came their way.

They were surprised when they saw whoever made those footsteps. About ten children came marching out of the jungle, in a formation. They were dressed in marine uniforms, except they didn't have "Justice" on the back. Instead they had the words "Future Peace" on them. They were all different races; there was even a fishman child among the group. They carried no weapons, but there was something distinctively off about them. So far all they did was surround the pirates. They didn't say anything, but just stared at Luffy and his crew. Luffy broke the silence.

"So, do you live here?" he asked.

No answer.

"Okay, where are your parents?" he asked.

No answer.

"Know where we can get any food around here?" he asked through clenched teeth, getting angrier by their silence.

Still, no answer.

Finally he had enough. "Fine, we're leaving now," he said and that was the other guys cue to prepare to leave. Luffy started walking towards that way they had came, but was stopped short by the marine children. They didn't move.

"I said that we were leaving," he repeated placing his hat upon his head. He took a step towards the nearest kid. He was very short, with close cropped blonde hair and indistinct facial features. He looked completely normal (except for his demeanor) and shocked the hell out of Luffy when the kid used haki and punched Luffy, sending him flying and knocking him unconscious.

"LUFFY!" the others yelled, but they didn't have time to worry about him because the other children converged on them. It took mere seconds for them to be overpowered and knocked unconscious.

The children then tied them all up using sea prism chains and carried them back to their master.

* * *

Sienna was jolted awake. She was unsure why though, maybe it was nightmare. She had settled back into her lounge chair and had started to dose off again when she heard Nami shout for Sanji. Then she fully awoke to an unbelievable scene: Sanji knocked out by a child.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: A Hard Fight

Zoro awoke when he heard the steps. He noticed when Sanji was aware of them. Giving each other a nod they prepared to fight.

"Nami! Robin! We got trouble. Take Chopper and Sienna back to the ship!" Zoro ordered.

"Right!" they both responded but before they could take two steps the marines were upon them, however they quickly noticed that the "marines" were children.

Unlike the other group that captured Luffy, this group attacked first. A female kid backhanded Sanji, sending him crashed in the water. Another kid fought Zoro, who was fighting with fully sheathed swords, trying not to hurt him. The kid was matching him blow for blow using only haki covered limbs.

Robin used her devil fruit powers to subdue a few of the kids, but Nami didn't have her Clima-takt with her. Chopper had woken and started fighting as well, so Nami grabbed Sienna and they made for the waver.

One of the kids had gotten in their way. Nami put Sienna behind her and attempted to shield her, but to no avail. The kid, a boy who looks no older than seven with jet black hair, gave Nami a kick to her shoulder and she was down. Sienna was on her own.

Time slowed for her. Seconds turned to an eternity. She saw the fighting before her. Everyone was doing their best. Sanji had gotten back up and was fighting two boys. Zoro did manage to defeat the kid he was fighting earlier, but now he was fighting the girl who backhanded Sanji earlier and he had drew his swords. Robin and Chopper were back to back barley keeping the group they were fighting at bay. Nami was bruised but was rising, clutching her shoulder.

Sienna, ignoring the sudden headache she'd gotten, fought back, starting with the kid who kicked Nami. He got in a few blows before he was out. Sienna didn't stop; she turned her attention to the group ganging up on Robin and Chopper. Her only thought, _"This is fun!"_ and she laughed with pure joy.

It had been so long since she had a good fight. She had been looking forward to her planned sparing sessions with Luffy and Zoro, (of course only after she was deemed healthy enough by Chopper). Now she could care less about her bandaged up body. However she did have a horrible headache, but she kept going, figuring that after all the enemies were gone she would rest.

She managed to defeat all the kids that plagued them, except for one. That one ran into the jungle.

* * *

Both Zoro and Sanji went after him, expecting that kid to be headed for reinforcements and they wanted to cut him off. Unfortunately they ran into a trap; there was a sea prism stone net hidden in underbrush that those two triggered and it caused them to be lifted into the air. Zoro didn't have enough time to cut it before tiny holes appeared in the stone and a gaseous substance poured out and they were knocked unconscious.

* * *

Sienna surveyed the scene. She was jubilant after defeating all the marine kids, but her head was pounding. Eventually it got too much for her and she went down onto her knees. Chopper was there in an instance, trying to help her, but all Sienna could think about was the pain that now coursed through her body. Everything faded to black to her and she was unconscious as well.

* * *

That left Nami, Robin and Chopper. They decided that getting to the ship was the best course of action. Unfortunately more marine kids appeared out of the jungle and the ones that Sienna defeated had recovered.

"We have no other option but to surrender," Robin said and put her hands up. She knew that Luffy and the others would come for them, so all they needed was to not get killed before then.

The other two follow suit. The kids kept coming towards them, until they surrounded them. Then one kid hit Nami in the back of the neck, knocking her out, and then did the same to the other two.

They bounded them up in sea prism stones chains and carried them to the jungle.

* * *

It seemed like hours had passed for Luffy when he woke up. He did not like the fact that a bunch of kids kicked his ass and with that realization he bounded up with an extreme amount of energy, only to be yanked down by a chain embedded in concrete. He was in a small cell wrapped in too many layers of ordinary chains. He tried to kick the bars of his cell only to be weakened by it because of course it was sea prism stone.

He was pissed and started yelling obscenities.

"YOU JERKS! LET ME GO! I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS! JERKS!"

However, all he did was wake up his crewmates who were all trapped in cells just like him.

"Luffy there's no point," Sanji said dejectedly. He was in need of a cigarette.

"Sanji you're here too? Where are the others?" Luffy asked.

Zoro spoke up and said, "I'm here. Let's do a roll call. Zoro here!"

"Luffy here!"

"Sanji here!"

"Chopper here!"

"Nami here!"

"Robin here!"

"Franky here!"

Broook here!"

"Usopp here!"

Silence. Then, "Where's Sienna?! Is she here?" Luffy asked.

Everyone looked for her, as best they could, in their small cells. Luffy managed to get out of his chains. He started freaking out in the cell, attempting to break free but only making himself weaker. He finally stopped with Nami yelled at him to, "cut it out and think for a second! Why would they take Sienna?"

Robin said, "They were Marines, maybe they had wanted posters for all of us and decided that since she didn't have one she was of no value."

"WHAT DO YOU MINE SHE'S OF NO VALUE!" yelled both Sanji and Luffy.

"Sorry," Robin responded truly contrite, "I meant that she doesn't have a bounty."

"We don't know for sure," Zoro said suspiciously. He was the only one who took notice of their surroundings. They were in a large room in an all concrete building that had no windows. It was hot, which suggested that they were still on the island and there was only one door, also concrete. _"Wow they must really want to keep us in here,"_ hethough.

"Shut up Zoro, you just don't trust her!" Luffy yelled at him.

"She's just an innocent girl! And she's hurt!" yelled Sanji.

Zoro kept his mouth shut, but he was thinking about how this innocent, hurt girl was coming in between the captain and the cook. He saw how both of them looked at her and given more time, they would be fighting each other for her.

Trying to be diplomatic, Robin suggested, "Maybe Zoro meant that, since she was on a navy owned island, that perhaps they are after her."

"But that's stupid! She hasn't done anything wrong," said Sanji.

Luffy was quiet. He knew that Robin may have been right, but he hoped that she was wrong.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Pushing Boundaries

The marine kids had taken Usopp's kabuto, Nami's Clima-takt, Brook's and Zoro's swords and Sanji's cigarettes and matches. Weaponless and feeling vulnerable, Zoro took Luffy's silence as suspicious.

"What is it that you aren't telling us about your girlfriend, Captian?" he asked sardonically.

"What business is it of yours?" Luffy asked hotly. He didn't like what Zoro was implying.

"It's my business if she's the reason we're locked up right now," he replied.

That started an argument.

"Why does it matter?" Sanji said. He was suspicious too, but not at Sienna.

"It matters, because this whole thing could have been a set up," Zoro said.

"How!" Luffy said through clenched teeth.

"Conveniently, we just happened to get captured on this island after she arrives on our ship!" Zoro yelled sarcastically.

"We were already headed here when we found her," Sanji yelled.

"Besides she was badly hurt and near death. Why would someone do that just to trap us?" yelled Luffy.

"You said it yourself; she's been known to be suicidal. Is it that far of a stretch to believe that she'd hurt herself just to throw us off?" yelled Zoro.

"You asshole! You don't even know her," yelled Luffy, he was itching to punch the hell out of Zoro.

The argument got louder and more intense.

* * *

Franky ignored the argument. He was concentrating on getting out of his cell. Their captors hadn't bothered to search him, so he had plenty of tools and full bottles of cola to work with. He tapped on the bars and found the lock and started fiddling with it. The lock was just a simple padlock that needed a key. _"Great!"_ he thought. He adjusted his fingers and viola he had a key that fit. In seconds he unlocked his cell. As soon as he got out, he yowled "SUPER" and struck a pose catching everyone's attention. He was able to get the three arguers to stop for a second.

"Finally, someone's being smart," said Zoro.

"Shut up Zoro! You're the dumbest one of all of us mosshead!" snapped Sanji.

Before he could respond back, Franky pointed at them and announced, "I'm not letting you three out until you work it out, whatever it is." Then he set about releasing everyone else. Luffy commanded Franky to release him but Franky strongly refused. Of course Sanji blamed Zoro for their predicament and vice versa. The yelling continued.

Nami had had enough. "Hey! We're going ahead to look for Sienna and a way out. We'll come back for you guys afterwards…maybe." She was irritated with Zoro for blaming Sienna. She was irritated with Sanji for feeding into the argument and irritated with Luffy for not sharing information. She wanted to knock some sense into them but decided that it would be a waste of time. Everyone else agreed that if released, those three would fight each other rather than be helpful. So leading the way, she headed for the door.

Using their strength, Franky and Chopper tried to push open the door but it wouldn't budge. Usopp, using his head, realized that the door must be opened from the outside and that there was a small vent right overhead. Being the skinniest, Brook was designated to be the one to go through the vent.

Complaining about getting dirt on his favorite outfit, he managed to escape the room. He landed in a dim hallway. Luckily there were no guards and he found a button that he assumed would open the door. He was right (phew) and Robin, Nami, Chopper, Usopp, and Franky walked out.

The other three were yelling loudly and calling each other all kinds of jerks and idiots. Nami pressed the button again and it closed the door. The others looked at her.

"What?" she shrugged, "They're being loud. At least with the door closed if any of our enemies come by, they'll just think that were all still in there."

The others nodded in assent and proceeded down the hallway.

* * *

Sanji was annoyed with everything and everyone. He needed a cigarette badly. He stopped arguing with the others and just observed Luffy and Zoro go at it. After a while he decided that it was probably time to end it and let it go.

"I think it's time to talk this out, now," he said softly.

"Fine," Luffy and Zoro said and both folded their arms and sulked in their cells.

"Luffy could you please tell us more about Sienna? I know that she was yours and Ace's childhood friend. Is there anything else?" Sanji tried to keep the skepticism out of his voice when he spoke.

Luffy sighed and said, "She was an assassin."

Zoro hmphed and felt justified in his actions. "See, I knew that girl was trouble."

Before Luffy could respond with a scathing comment, Sanji spoke up, "So she was an assassin, but obviously she wasn't very good considering she ended up being tossed in the trash."

"You're right, she wasn't. She was trained to follow orders, but she made a lot of mistakes. She asked a lot of questions and was very clumsy. Most of her targets survived. When Ace and I met her she was on her last chance. She didn't know much about the people she worked for. But she did tell us that they thought she was a failure and that she deserved to die. We changed her mind, gave her a home and a family."

"She was a child. How was she supposed to be an assassin?" Zoro asked soberly.

Luffy shrugged. "I don't know. But she's a great fighter…well was. Not sure how much damage being on Trash Heap Island has affected her."

"Well, now that I know this, I'm sorry about everything I said," Zoro said.

"I forgive you," Luffy said and smiled.

"So now that we're friends again, let's figure out how to get out of here," Zoro said.

Sanji grinned and said, "Well ahead of you," as he used haki and kicked at the lock on his cell.

It took a few kicks, but Sanji managed to break out of his. He stretched to get the crook out of his neck and then had started on Zoro's when he heard the door open. It was Sienna and there was something off about her.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Thirty Minutes

Nami and the others followed the hallway until they reached a split. They had passed no doors on the way and no guards. Trying to stay hopeful she suggested they split up with the goals of finding Sienna, finding an exit and releasing Luffy, Zoro and Sanji. Since there seemed to be no guards around, it shouldn't take them long. Giving everyone a time limit of thirty minutes to meet back at the room with the cells, she went down the right side of the branching hallway with Franky and Bro-…Chopper (she switched because didn't want to deal with Brook's perversion at that moment). Robin, Usopp and Brook went down the other.

* * *

Sienna's eyes were glazed over. Her gait was slow and hesitant and she was bleeding. Her shoes were missing and she was leaving a trail of bloody footprints. Sanji went to her.

"Sienna! What happened! Why are you bleeding?" he asked her.

She gave a watery smile and said softly, "It's not mine," before she passed out. Sanji caught her and carried over to some random boxes and set her there. He started looking about the room.

Luffy was freaking out in the cell again, "Sanji, get me out of here!"

Sanji had found a metal bar while rummaging in boxes. It made the task of breaking the locks on the cells easy. Luffy was out and his first action was to go to Sienna and check her over.

"It's not her blood," said Sanji, joining him and Sienna's side.

"Then whose is it?" Luffy asked.

Zoro had proceeded to the open door and peered out into the hallway.

"It looks empty. Do you think the others encountered any enemies?" he asked.

The other two didn't respond. They were busy having a mini struggle over who would carry Sienna.

Feeling aggravated, Zoro stomped over to them and grabbed Sienna, carrying her piggy backed. "I'll carry her, so you two can stop fighting."

Then they set out.

* * *

It didn't take them long to reach the same split the others did. After an intense match of Rock, Paper, Scissors they went right (Zoro went left but Sanji got his attention before he went far). They eventually came upon a door.

Luffy tried the handle and the door opened. Inside was a desk littered with precariously placed piles of paper, pens and dried inkwells. There were maps and charts and pictures all over the walls. Luffy touched a sheet of paper on the desk, sending the pile onto the floor.

"Nice going," Sanji chuckled.

Luffy ignored him because something caught his eye. Moving more sheets out of the way he uncovered a Transponder Snail. In Luffy-like fashion he picked up the receiver and someone answered.

"Ready to receive."

* * *

Nami, Franky and Chopper had come across this room a while before Luffy and the others. Nami told the other two to not touch anything in case it was a trap. She did, however go to the maps on the walls. On one side, she noticed how these maps were of places she had never heard of. They were expertly done and she was itching to take a few, just in case. Her pride overrode her sense of awe. _"I much rather make my own, thank you very much,"_ she thought and resisted the temptation to take them.

She wandered over to the other side and there were maps of familiar places: Alabasta, Drum Island, Fishman Island, Little Garden, Sabaody and Water 7. _"This wall must have maps of islands on the Grand Line,"_ she thought. She came to the conclusion that the layout of the map room outlined the sea of the Grand Line, both halves, and that this room was unhelpful to them at the present. So they left.

Further down they came upon a window. Looking outside they recognize the flora of the jungle and Nami noted this as an optional way out. They didn't see much else other than the jungle, so they moved on. It was a little bright near the window, but as they went they were back into the gloom of the hallway.

They saw more doors but they were empty. Nothing was in those rooms. They finally reached what looked like a lobby. There were plush chairs and carpet and potted plants. The overheads lights were inviting and bright and coming out of the dimly lit hallway into the lobby hurt their eyes a bit. After it passed, it was then that they saw two things: a door clearly marked exit and a body of a marine kid.

* * *

They went back down the hallway they had traversed. They came upon Luffy, Zoro and Sanji, just outside the map room. Not surprised that they had gotten out on their own, they were surprised at the fact that Sienna was placed a pile of papers, unconscious.

Chopper went to her and checked her over admonishing everyone for leaving her like this.

"We have bigger problems," said Zoro.

"Where's Robin and the others? We need to get back to the ship," said Sanji, "thanks to our captain here," pausing to hit Luffy on the head, "we've alerted the Navy that we're here. They'll be here in minutes."

"They had gone down the other hallway, but we're supposed to meet them at the room with the cells," said Nami, "we also found the exit." She chose not to revile that they saw a dead marine kid. At this point it didn't matter.

Chopper had picked up Sienna and they set off down the hallway hoping to catch up to their crewmates and make it back to their ship before the marines arrived.

 ****I've changed the rating on this because I'm plan to get more violent. I hope you've enjoyed the story so far and please keep reading to find out what happens next.****


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Down the Left Hallway

When Robin, Usopp, and Brook had left the others, they didn't go far before they came upon a double set of doors on their left. There were block letters on top, but the lighting was too dim and they could only make out on word: "WAR".

"Looks like this room is meaningless," Usopp said nervously. He turned and tried to walk away, but was dragged back by Robin. She had to drag both of them through the doors, keeping a hand on their mouths to stop them from protesting too loudly. She remembered her time as part of the revolutionaries. A room, on a strange island filled with strange children, marked with "WAR" above the door, had to be investigated. She pushed open the door almost recklessly. She was disappointed by what she found.

The room was big. There were rows down both sides with small bunk beds. Each bed was made impeccably, not a blanket out of place. She let go of the others and walked to the first set of beds. There was a layer of dust on the beds. _"No one has slept in these for a while,"_ she thought.

There was a small set of drawers in between the set. She opened them but was disappointed by its emptiness. She closed it and turned her attention back to the other two.

Brook was doing the same as Robin, checking out the beds. He noticed that the beds were too small to be for adults. "You know those kids? Could they have been sleeping here?" he asked. He didn't expect an answer and the others gave none.

Robin walked down the aisle until she reached the end of the rows. She counted forty beds, twenty on each side.

"Maybe this isn't a "WAR" room like we thought. Maybe it's "WARD" and we just couldn't see the "D", she suggested. Usopp went back to the hallway to check. He squinted hard, until he thought he saw a faint outline of a "D" and confirmed it.

They left the room and things got worse from there.

* * *

The hallway progressively got brighter and there were no other doors. Robin stopped them when she noticed that it was no longer a concrete hallway but steel.

"The way the walls are melded, there's no way this is natural. It's so seamless," she pointed out. She was to one side and had touched it trying to recall if this had ever been done before. She was caught in her own thoughts, while the others whispered behind her. They didn't understand why this was important. Then there was a crash up ahead breaking Robin's train of thought.

She ran towards it, preparing to fight. Brook hot on her heels and Usopp behind protesting this action and suggesting they go back to Nami and the others. He was ignored.

The hallway opened up to a large atrium. It had three levels, with steel stairs and walkways along the walls. They were on the highest level looking down. There were all sorts of items here all in crates of varying sizes. But they didn't have time to look through them. From where they were, they could see Sienna and she was fighting the strange children.

"Let's go help," Brook said.

"Without weapons, we would just be in the way," Usopp said, "besides it doesn't look like she needs help."

Robin just observed the fighting below. Or, slaughter. Sienna didn't need help. She was covered in blood. Gore littered the floor around her. Most of the children were incapacitated and missing limbs, organs and one or two had missing heads; she couldn't tell because of the mess Sienna was making from slamming her opponents into the crates. There were children alive and whole and they were fighting Sienna with a level ferocity that Robin has only seen in adults. They didn't yell or grunt. They were stoic and fierce, terrifying.

Something was wrong with Sienna. Robin could tell that by her movements. They were calculating and not a move was wasted. As they watched, one child fell. Then another one. In a matter of seconds all the remaining children were dead. A dead silence followed.

Usopp had falling over from terror. When he did so he made a noise that made Sienna look up at them.

They knew that look. It was the look of complete detachment. She didn't recognize them and they knew that in that brief moment they were enemies. Sienna ran towards them and jumped, landing in front of them effortlessly. The three looked at each and with one mind, decided that running from her was their only option or at least leading her back to Luffy.

They didn't move fast enough and she attacked them, knocking them out.

* * *

Sienna's head hurt relentlessly. She felt sore and wanted nothing more than to sleep. She had awoken up to being poked and prodded by the creepy kids. She was angry and fought back. She didn't realize what she had done to them. All she knew was that she saw Robin, Brook and Usopp but she couldn't seem to focus on them. Time had passed and she was in a hallway. More time passed and she was opening a door and then she saw Sanji. She felt relieved and fell asleep noting that the blood that covered her wasn't hers.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Too Late

Luffy lead everyone down the hallway, passing the corridor that lead back to the cells. He was in a bad mood. Everyone blamed him for alerting the navy, but all he did was pick up the receiver. Not his fault that the idiot on the other side started talking. Luffy grumbled along in the lead.

Then he slipped on something slick. He bent to look at and it was blood. He pointed it out to the others.

He looked back at Sienna.

"She must have come down this way," he said.

"So she was in a fight," said Zoro.

"I checked her over and she wasn't hurt," said Chopper who was carrying Sienna.

"Yeah, she told me that the blood wasn't hers," replied Sanji.

Nami had walked ahead a little and she came upon the "WAR (d)" marked door. "Hey there's a room here!" she announced.

Luffy, Sanji, Zoro and Franky went into fight mode and converged on the door. Not needing to hide themselves they burst opened the door. There was nothing. They did look in there, briefly and Chopper waited outside. Then he caught traces of Robin's scent.

"Hey guys, I smell Robin," he said sniffing. "This way," and he ran down the hallway. He didn't stay to see if the others followed. He was concerned about the blood on the floor. Most of the splotches were footprints, he guessed, from Sienna. When the hallway got brighter he saw a smear on the wall, but Robin's scent was stronger so he didn't stop to look at.

He was the first to come upon the unresponsive forms of Usopp, Brook and Robin. He bent to check their pulses, only slightly hindered by having Sienna on his back. He gave a sigh of relief when he confirmed that they were just knocked out.

"There fine, but I don't know how this happened," he told the others. They had caught up with them and converged upon the unconscious three, except for Nami. She had gone to the railing and was looking down until she turned and vomited onto floor.

That got everyone's attention and they went to the railing to see what caused her sickness.

* * *

"Who did this to them?" Franky asked.

"We know who did this?" responded Sanji.

"How is the most important question," Zoro said. He tried not to let his old suspicions come back. He trusted Luffy and Luffy trusted Sienna, but for her to be able to cause this much destruction put him on edge.

"Th…..ther…there was a…..nother one, in the lobby" said Nami. The body they saw earlier didn't affect her, the way that the carnage she'd face now did. It was a level of damage that Sienna had done to them that made her sick.

Thinking fast, Sanji guessed that this place would be the perfect hiding spot and that their weapons might be here. Franky and Zoro had volunteered to go down and look. Robin, Usopp, and Brook were coming to. When they saw their comrades around they were relieved.

* * *

They explained that it was Sienna who knocked them out, but they were thankful that that was all she did to them. They told them what they saw her do, but they also mentioned that something was very wrong with her. Her demeanor was off.

"Luffy, we need to get her off this island," said Robin.

"We all need to get off," said Nami, "the navy is coming."

They didn't know how long they had, but they needed their weapons. Robin used her powers to help look.

Skirting the bodies, Zoro was able to find Brook's Soul Solid. Luckily it was easy to find the others. The weapons had been stored near where Sienna's fight had been.

* * *

Armed they left the Atrium and ran down the hallway. Nami guided them to the lobby. Before they reached it there was a loud explosion and the building shook. Another one soon followed.

"Is that canon fire?" Sanji exclaimed.

They put it into high gear and reached the lobby in seconds. Zoro and Brook sliced the doors open, without stopping and everyone (Nami and Usopp being roughly carried by Franky and Luffy) ran out into the jungle. It was night and too dark to see any paths.

Chopper used his sense of smell to find the sea. It didn't take long for them to make it to the beach; however they were not at the location that the Sunny was anchored. The navy had surrounded the island and was firing non-stop at it.

"It's almost like a Buster Call," said Robin. There were no warships, but the way they fired was sure to annihilate the island. Already a fire had started in the jungle, lighting up the sky. Luffy said, "Come on!" and he lead his crew along the beach. His plan was to just run along the beach until they came upon the Sunny. No one could think of a better plan so they followed along.

They finally came upon the Sunny, but they navy was already there.


	19. Chapter 19

***Writing action scenes is hard. This one chapter took a long time to write. Hopefully you think it's awesome and you want to read more.***

Chapter 19: Everyone On Board

Patting his pocket and finding his cigarettes and matches made Sanji relaxed. He had found them during the search for weapons. They were undamaged. He took one out and lit it, reveling in the smell of tobacco. He was ready for a fight. He was pissed about the situation and their day, but nothing a good fight couldn't make better.

Wordless, the crew spread out into a circle. They were being surrounded by marines and more were coming off the ships. Nami and Robin position themselves with Sienna in the middle, to protect her. She was still unconscious.

The marines were wary of the pirates. They spread out, but didn't attack. One remarked that they were facing the infamous Straw Hat Pirates. Another worried about why they were here on this island. The marines looked unsure of what to do. They had been giving explicit orders not to let anyone leave the Island, but these were The Straw Hats! Quite a few marines decided not to even fight and let the crew leave. This Island was doomed, but they would be equally as doomed if they didn't let them go.

An officer arrived getting off a landing boat. "What's the hold up?" he demanded.

"Sir!" said a saluting subordinates, "These are the Straw Hats!"

"I DON'T CARE! YOU HAVE ORDERS," he yelled while drawing his saber, "ATTACK!"

"Three Sword Style Black Rope Dragon Twister!" announced Zoro, and he sent a sizable portion of marines flying.

"We don't have enough time for everyone to attack separately," said Sanji. Without preamble the entire crew attacked simultaneously and in sync creating a new attack called "The Straw Hat Jackpot!"

* * *

The fight was over in minutes. Before reinforcements could arrive, Nami came up with a plan to maximize their escape. They gathered up their items from the beach (luckily they were undisturbed). Robin, Chopper, Franky and Sienna separated into the Mini Merry and Nami and Usopp got in the waver. Usopp aimed and shot his Pop Green Take Javelin along the beach, insuring the defeated marines stayed down. Luffy, Sanji and Zoro stayed behind to clear a path to the Sunny using long distance attacks. Brook ran along the water attacking the remaing landing ships.

As soon as Franky got back to the Sunny, he immediately prepared for their departure and checked the cola levels in the ship. Nami determined which path to take. She was worried that the log pose wouldn't guide them to the next island, but they'll figure it out later. Everyone else worked together to unfurl the sails.

The three on the beach got onto the ship by their own methods. Everything was ready for Luffy to give the order. Wasting no time he commanded, "Let's ship out!"

* * *

Escaping the ships was easy. The marines had stopped firing on the island and didn't fire at the pirates. They were concerned about their comrades on the beach and concentrated on getting them back to the safety of the naval ships. Franky used a Coup de Burst and the Thousand flew into the air, effectively making sure the navy couldn't follow them.

* * *

For the first time ever Luffy was not amused about winning against the navy. He was irritated. This was not the adventure he wanted to have with Sienna. In a bad mood, he called a crew meeting in the dining room. Leaving the doors open and placing Sienna in Chopper's office bed, the crew planned out their next steps.

It turned out the log pose was able to reset itself, but where it led next was undetermined. They planned out what to do in different situations, notably what to do with Sienna.

"So she's an assassian," confirmed Usopp.

"Was," corrected Luffy.

"Like CP-9?" asked Chopper.

"I don't think so. She wasn't very good at it," Luffy responded.

"Wasn't very good? You didn't see what we saw; what she did," said Usopp.

They all reflected on the carnage she left behind.

"I think she has something in common with those marine children," said Robin, "they had the same mannerism when they fought."

"So we just need to figure out the mystery of Sienna," said Zoro, trying to be both pragmatic and civil.

"Yeah, learning more about her would help in figuring out the mystery of the last Island," remarked Franky. He was neither suspicious of Sienna nor afraid of her. He was more concerned about the crew itself.

"Look, Sienna is a member of our crew. Learning more about her won't help us in our goals," said Luffy.

"I agree. That island had nothing to do with her. She wasn't the one who called the marines," Sanji pointed out.

Nami spoke up before an argument could happen. "Guys, we're safe and together. Sienna isn't well, which means that it isn't wise to take her on any adventures until she well enough. Only," here she pointed at Chopper, "Chopper will deteremine if she's well. Until he says, Sienna isn't leaving the ship."

"But…" Luffy started, but he was cut by Nami.

"Get to know her naturally. No one force her. We all can tell that she's hurt, mentally and physically. We move at her pace and encourage her not to overdo it."

"What if…" Zoro began.

"No Buts! No exceptions! Follow it! Got it!" she ended.

"Yes, ma'am!" they all intoned. Then she dismissed the meeting. She gave Luffy a warning look and he turned away from going into Chopper's office.

"She's supposed to be my Sous Chef; will she be able to work with me in the morning for breakfast? Sanji asked.

Chopper answered shyly, "If she wakes up, then I don't see why not." He wasn't used to having this much authority.

Sanji was excited and had a giant smile on his face. Luffy saw it and really didn't like it.

* * *

Everyone went to bed after deciding on the watch schedule. Before going to her room, Nami checked the sky. The weather changed considerably and Nami worried about an upcoming storm, both on the sea and on the ship.


	20. Chapter 20

***I made it to chapter 20! Yay! Thank you all for the support and please enjoy the story!***

Chapter 20: Lessons Begin

Sienna woke up feeling sore but she was happy when she recognized the familiar room. She didn't remember much about the day before, but she felt refreshed. She got up and realized that she was filthy and that the sheets were filthy too. She decided to bathe and then perhaps wash the sheets. She wasn't sure how to wash anything, but she at least took the sheets off the bed. Then she went to bathe. It was still dark, but dawn wasn't far off.

* * *

Sanji was on the last watch and had woken up an hour before dawn. He was at the helm and didn't hear Sienna wake. After staring into the distance and smoking a cigarette, he decided to get breakfast started. They were low on supplies and breakfast was going to be very light until more came in, but he didn't mind. He was getting the chance to cook and cook with Sienna, he was ecstatic!

He didn't find her in Chopper's office. He did notice the sheets balled up on the floor. As he rounded the corner intending to search for her, he bumped into her, knocking over some bottles that were in her hands.

"Sorry," he said and he bent to pick them up. They were shampoo bottles. "Why…" he started but was caught off guard when he looked at her. She was radiant and wet. She had taking off most of the bandages and her bruises were healing. Her hair was wrapped in a towel and she smelled divine; like a mixture of flowers and strawberries. He also noticed that she was dressed in nothing but an oversized towel. When he realized that he was staring and not being helpful, he blushed and looked away handing her the shampoo he picked up.

"Good morning!" she said brightly. Bumping in the Sanji was great for Sienna. She could ask him about doing laundry and she wanted to get started on her cooking lessons.

"Morning, I see you are feeling better," he said, rubbing the back of neck and averting his eyes. He was trying to fight off a nose bleed.

"Yep!" she said smiling. She noticed that he couldn't look at her so she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Noth..nothing" he suttered.

"Okay…hey, can you help me with something?"

"Ye…ah s…s...s…sure," he was having trouble talking. _"Come on Sanji! Pull yourself together_!" he thought.

"Great! I need help with doing laundry!" she said and lead him back to Chopper's office and showing him the dirty sheets.

"Oh," and that was the best response he could come up with, still averting his eyes. He was feeling slightly disappointed, but didn't know why.

"And I need clothes," she said and waved to indicate her towel.

That did it for Sanji. Having no choice but to look at her, he couldn't fight the nose bleed. It was massive and he passed out. Sienna freaked out and screamed, waking everyone.

* * *

After Robin and Nami calmed Sienna down they managed to get her into their room and got her dressed. She was upset because she thought she hurt Sanji and that made the other two pissed at Sanji. Nami mentally pictured herself throttling Sanji, and seriously considered it until she remembered that it was Sanji and that he would like the throttling way too much.

They tried to explain to her that Sanji was fine, a pervert, but fine. She insisted on making sure. Besides she wanted to help him make breakfast. They acquiesced and made sure that Sienna was fully covered (from the neck down) before they let her out of the room.

Before they allowed Sanji near her they decided that a chaperone was needed. Luffy agreed and said that he would do it. Sanji argued that Luffy plus food was a bad idea. Having nothing better to do, Zoro was the designated chaperone much to his chagrin (and Luffy's and Sanji's). The door was also to remain open at all times.

Zoro didn't want to be in the same room as Sienna and Sanji. Especially when Sanji wanted her to cut up some vegetables and had to "show" her by moving her hands the way he wanted them. Zoro thought Sanji was stupid when he was twirling around showing off his "skills". Zoro damn near drew his sword after he kept hearing how "amazing," his Si-chan was (yes, Sanji gave her a nickname) for the umpteenth time.

"Is breakfast done already?!" he yelled.

"It'll be ready when I say it's done," Sanji said tersely.

Zoro growled at him. Sanji growled back. Sienna, obviously to the tension, asked the same question. She was getting hungry and she wanted to move on to her other activities for the day.

"Oh yes my Si-chan!" Sanji answered sweetly.

Zoro hmphed, and got up from his stool and went to tell everyone it was time to eat. As he walked out the kitchen door, he almost bumped into Luffy who was crouching near the door. Zoro had no doubt that he heard everything that Sanji said. Zoro sighed and resigned himself to make sure that Sanji and Luffy weren't alone anytime soon.

* * *

Woken up by Sienna's screams put Luffy on edge. He was positively fuming when I saw Sienna wearing nothing but a towel and Sanji passed out on the floor. Sanji was lucky that Chopper had gotten to him first or he would have gotten a Gum Gum Pistol to the gut. He was thankful that Nami suggested Sienna and Sanji have a chaperone, even though he was denied (for a petty reason, food is meant to be eaten damn it!), but though Zoro was a good choice. He still decided to hang out by the kitchen door (not spying). When Zoro came out Luffy was murderous and Sanji was his target. Luffy tried to attack, but Zoro grabbed the back of his shirt and told him to "Cool it, Captain."

"Let me go!" Luffy said through clenched teeth. How dare Sanji call Sienna, Si-chan? And he was touching her!

"Do you want to upset Sienna?" said an exasperated Zoro and that was all he had to say. That deflated Luffy's angry sails and Luffy was able to calm down.

Zoro didn't let him go, but he turned his attention to the others and yelled, "BREAKFAST!"

The others cheered (about time) and made their way to the kitchen. They had the fore withal to not question (out loud) why Zoro had Luffy by his shirt.

They grabbed their seats, Zoro planting himself next to Luffy who saved a seat for Sienna. Sanji and Sienna served the omelets and egg rice bowls with various meats (mostly fish) in them. Everyone kept their thoughts about how long it took to make omelets, to themselves. They said "Thanks for the food" and dug in. Sanji had no choice but to sit next to Usopp, who Zoro forced to sit on the other side of Sienna.

Luffy forgave Sanji while he ate. How could he be mad at his favorite cook? Especially since the food was so delicious. Sienna and Sanji got plenty of praise. Eventually Luffy asked for seconds and was denied, and then his fickle attitude came back. Mostly everyone saw the look Luffy was giving Sanji and Nami suggested that since breakfast was done that Sienna could have hang out with her and Robin.

Sanji thought that was a good idea and told Sienna that she didn't have to worry about cleaning up, that he would take care it and the laundry. He was in a very good mood.

When Luffy volunteered (clearly ready to pick a fight) to help Sanji, everyone (except Sienna) groaned. Their day hadn't even begun fully and already there was drama. Sienna innocently smiled and made a mental note to asked Luffy and Sanji to show her how to do the laundry later.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Fleeting Happiness

Sienna's day flew by fast. At the end of it she was tired but happy. She enjoyed her lessons with Robin and Nami. They were fun and most of it was a gossip session and she learned more the males of the crew.

She didn't like that Luffy and Sanji weren't getting along because they had crushes on her. Robin told her to focus on herself and her adventure and to tell them that. Sienna promised herself that she'll let the men know in the morning.

She had a check up with Chopper before bed. He was surprised that her wounds were almost done healing, but he didn't harp on it. He did her that she would _maybe_ get to spar with Luffy and Zoro _maybe_ tomorrow.

She learned a lot about the Sunny from Usopp and Franky, although she vowed never to touch anything lest she break something. She also had her first music lesson with Brook, but it turned into a rowdy Soul King concert and Sienna had more fun watching Brook than learning from him.

Cooking with Sanji was gratifying and he was very patient with her. She assisted with not only breakfast but lunch and dinner as well. She ate a lot, partially because he kept having her taste everything while cooking. She liked making meals for the crew. It made her feel important.

Although, now that she knew he had a crush on her, she wondered how awkward it would be. She went to bed, this time sleeping in the girls' room, trying to formulate a plan on how to dissuade his affections. However, a part of her enjoyed the attention.

* * *

The ladies woke early the next day. Robin and Nami felt like being chaperones today. Sanji was excited to have the ladies all to himself. With heart shaped eyes and an extra pep in his step, Sanji made the ladies an exemplary breakfast. The guys were woken up late and got grilled fish and rice.

Before Luffy could complain, Sienna grabbed him and went out to the deck. She was ready to spar. Sanji's flirtations drove her insane and she needed an outlet. She tried to talk to him about being friends and setting boundaries (though she didn't have a good concept of that), but the attention he gave excited and frustrated her. She didn't know what to do and she was confused. She tried to follow Nami's and Robin's advice but the more she tried to deter him the more friendly he became.

What wound her up the most was when he commented on her hair. He couldn't help but touch it and play with it. His petting sent electric tendrils down her spine to places she didn't know existed. She was content to let him play with her hair for forever, but Nami knocked him on the head telling him to get back to work and to let them eat in peace.

She looked at the faces of Nami and Robin and felt shame for enjoying it but before she could talk to them about it Luffy showed up. Luckly he didn't see it. He did see what they were eating and was massively disappointed in his meal (didn't stop him from wolfing it down though).

Sienna was anxious and full of energy. Grabbing her boyfriend and preparing for a fight felt right to her. Luffy wasn't going to deny her. He kicked off his sandals, did a few stretches (like he needed it) and said "Let's go!"

* * *

Everyone took the opportunity to watch them fight. It was almost magical, they way they moved. Luffy punched and kicked, moved in sync with Sienna and she never missed the chance to parry his attacks. Sienna's fighting style was only a dash more sophisticated than Luffy's, but he had endurance. They fought for about an hour and eventually it became apparent that Sienna was at her limit.

Luffy's last technique did her in. It was a specially made move that he never used until today; a tickle attack aimed at her sides. When they were younger Ace always ended his fights with her by tickling her into submission. She was especially sensitive on her sides and Luffy saw how tired she was. He at least acknowledged that her skills were still there even though she was injured. Instead of just ending the fight because of her injuries he gave her the special move.

Sienna collapsed in a fit of laughter. Luffy didn't stop; he straddled her and started tickling in her other known spots, under arms, back of the knees, feet. She tried to fight back, but was having too much fun to actively try to stop him.

Laughing and not paying attention to where his hands were Luffy found himself touching her breasts. The touch caused a moan to escape Sienna's mouth. Luffy though her hurt her and got off her immediately, calling Chopper over to check her.

Chopper rushed over and fretted over her bruises, admonishing them both for not waiting until she was completely healed.

Sienna didn't know why she moaned, it was involuntary and Luffy's touch wasn't bad. She like it as much as she liked Sanji's but kept this bit of information to herself. She was out of breath and while she was exhilarated mentally, physically she was exhausted, sore and needed a nap.

* * *

The others watching this knew why she moaned. Nami smacked her head, grumbling about how dumb Luffy is. Robin just smiled. Brook made a joke about Luffy's "magical fingers" that made Franky and Usopp crack up. Zoro walked away. He didn't need to see any more to know that another fight was beginning.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Brief Interruption

Sanji was smoldering. He hated seeing Luffy touch Sienna. He hated Luffy for making her laugh. And that moan! He loathed when Luffy made her moan! Don't get him started on that!

He was smoking a cigarette; now the cigarette was crushed in his fist. He was tapping a foot, itching to use it on Luffy's face. He forced a smile and told everyone that he was going to the kitchen to do something; it seemed like an appropriate response.

Everyone breathe a sigh of relief that he was leaving the situation. Chopper deemed Sienna okay, but that she needed to take it easy. He told Luffy to leave her alone, which he was okay with for now. He was confused and didn't know how he should feel. In his usual fashion he dropped it and his thoughts moved on to food; deciding that he was hungry.

"Hey where did Sanji go?" he asked no one in particular.

"In the kitchen," Zoro said. He saw Sanji's reaction and knew that it would be a bad idea for those two to be in the same room at that moment. But, like a band-aid that needed to be removed forcefully, this fight needed to happen quickly so it could be gotten over quickly.

Everyone gave him a pointed look as Luffy headed to the kitchen. Usopp suggested that Luffy fished with him instead and that was the perfect suggestion. Robin suggested that Sienna relax with a good book and they went to the library. Chopper and Brook joined Usopp and Luffy. Franky found something to tinker with in his workshop and Nami checked the log pose. The ship was on course and everything seemed all right, but Nami had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

* * *

The fishermen sat on the railing facing the starboard side. They were relaxed and enjoying each other's company. Then they started playing around and they ended up forgetting the poles and started chasing each other around the deck.

Nami was trying to concentrate. She noticed something off about the sky. _"The clouds are starting to darken, could it be a storm,"_ she thought. The log pose wasn't acting strangely but they were moving faster than they should have. The wind was picking up the closer they got to the next island. _"It looks like this storm is unavoidable. Hopefully we'll make it to the next island, we should probably…"_ her thoughts were interrupted by the noise the fishermen were making.

"HEY! SHUT UP! I'M TRYING TO THINK!" she yelled at them. After they apologized (halfheartedly) she informed them that they were headed into a storm.

"What should we do?" Chopper asked innocently.

"I was trying to think of a plan before I was interrupted by you four, but nonetheless we need to meet with everyone," she said.

Usopp suggested that Luffy go get Franky, trying to keep him away from Sanji, but it fell on deaf ears. Luffy didn't bother leaving, he just yelled for everyone to meet at the stirring wheel while he stretched and got on top of his special seat.

* * *

"We are heading into a storm," began Nami, "the wind pressure is increasing," soon they wouldn't be able to hear each other, "and visibility will be limited. Our heading is straight according to the log pose, but at the rate the clouds are darkening and the waves we may not be able to steer the rudder." As she was talking the sails were getting tighter and the waves were getting higher.

"Drop the sails," Nami instructed, "and start tying down everything."

Franky took over the wheel and everyone else helped get the ship prepared.

Sienna was scared but also willing to help. She did what she could, until the rain started.

* * *

Of course Luffy wasn't worried. Storms are to be expected and tackled on head on. No one else felt his sentiment, and they also noticed Sienna's hesitant manner when the rain started.

Sanji took it upon himself to comfort her.

"What's wrong Si-chan?" he asked while guiding her into the closest dry room, which happened to be the boys dorm. She was trembling with fear.

"I…I…I'm not… used to….used to storms," she responded in between chattering teeth. Sanji had her sit on one of the cots and he grabbed a blanket to cover her with.

"Surely you had storms on the island," he said.

"No… it was in…a calm sea, no storms."

"Right, ummm how about a song?" he asked. He didn't know what to say to her, so he thought that singing a song would help. The only song that came to him was Bink's Sake.

" _Gather up all the crew…"_ he started but was interrupted by Luffy.

"What's going on?" he asked suspiciously.

"I'm scared…and Sanji was going to…s…s…sing me a song," Sienna responded innocently. The storm was getting worse. And while she was out of the rain she couldn't escape from the rocking of the ship because of the waves.

"So, you were going to sing her a song?" asked Luffy succinctly.

"I thought the song would help," Sanji answered boldly.

"Humph. Well why didn't you get Brook? Or better yet, 'gather up all the crew' to calm Sienna?" he asked crossing his arms.

"Everyone else was preparing the ship," Sanji answered hotly. His voice was slowly rising.

"Shouldn't you be preparing the ship too?" Luffy implied.

"Fine," Sanji said and he stalked out of the room, leaving Luffy and Sienna alone.

Sienna didn't care to know why they were mad at each other. It started to thunder while they were arguing and it made her head hurt. She was starting to freak out and Luffy tried to help but he was so out of his element.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Going Overboard

Outside the deck, the crew worked hard to combat the storm. Sanji welcomed the distraction that was the storm. He was heated, but the cold sea spray cooled him off. Just trying to stay upright was a challenge with the ever increasing waves and heavy winds.

"Franky, will be able to use the Coup de Burst?" Nami yelled to Franky. They were mere feet apart but couldn't hear over the crashing waves.

"We don't have enough cola for that," he responded and gripped the wheel hard trying to keep the ship on the right heading.

Nami was frustrated that she couldn't think of anything to better their situation. Only thing she could do was pray that they came out intact.

* * *

The storm seemed to last for an eternity. It got worse as time passed. The crew used their skills to divert the worse of it from the ship, but they were worn out after an hour. The devil fruit power users were tired faster than the other, because of their weakness to the sea. Franky suggested that they all go inside and rest.

Chopper had tried to give Sienna a sedative earlier, but she refused it. She wanted to be helpful to her crewmates, but she needed to get over her fear first. That proved to be more difficult than anticipated.

* * *

Alone with her, Luffy tried everything he could think of; making funny faces, telling jokes, singing silly songs, trying to distract her and comfort her. Sienna tried to laugh, but a rumble of thunder would cause her to jump. A streak of lightening would hurt her eyes. She felt nauseous and had a terrible headache. When she tried to stand or walk, she would be knocked over when a wave crashed into the ship. Luffy told her to stay seated, but she felt trapped when she did. The room they were in turned into a prison for her and she felt she couldn't breathe. Luffy helped her outside onto the deck. That was when Chopper noticed her condition and tried to give her a sedative. She put on a brave face and succeeded in worrying everyone further.

Franky's suggestion was much needed. They all went into the dining room. Sanji wanted to make something to warm them up but it was too dangerous. So, they all sat around the table trying to warm up around a heat dial. Sienna was glad to be surrounded by the crew. Neither Luffy nor Sanji could help her when they were alone. But together and with the crew Sienna felt like she could tackle the storm.

They told stories of other storms they faced: the knock up stream that took them to Skypeia, the crazy ride on Rocketman during Aqua Laguna and their underwater journey to Fishman Island. Usopp of course inserted a few embellishments to the story and then a friendly debate started over who did what.

* * *

That debate soon turned into a heated argument between Sanji and Luffy; each one questioning the other's skills.

"If you hadn't been such a dumbass, our fights wouldn't have been as long!" Sanji said.

"Who are you calling dumb?! I'm not the pervert that gets distracted by girls and won't fight!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Whoa guys! Now is not the time for this!" Nami yelled at them both, but they ignored her.

"That's called having morals!"

"That's called being a bitch!"

"Really! I may not be able to fight a female, but at least I don't have a habit of getting stuck somewhere, dick for brains!" he said and laughed.

By this time they both were standing up face to face. Everyone waited with baited breathe to see what happened.

Then Luffy put his hat on his head and said, "Outside," then walked away.

Sanji loosened his tie and followed.

* * *

"Wait! What's happening?" Sienna asked. She was confused and wanted to know why they were going back out into the dangerous storm. She followed them out and tried to stop them. Sanji put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Go back inside, Si-chan, Luffy and I just have to settle something," and he gave her a (hopefully) reassuring grin.

Luffy was infuriated by Sanji touching Sienna. He yelled "I'm freaking tired of you touching her!" then he cocked his fist back and launched it.

Sanji was barely able to dodge it because of the rain. He jumped out the way attempting to sky walk into a better attack position.

Before they could fight in earnest the storm beat both of them. The wind knocked Sanji against the ship and he fell into the water and a huge wave washed over the Sunny, taking Luffy with it. The other crew members somehow managed to not get washed out by wave, but it was a close call.

Seeing Luffy and Sanji being thrown overboard sent Sienna in a frenzied state. Chopper sedated her against her will while Franky, Usopp, and Zoro took control of the ship to keep it from capsizing.

* * *

Sanji had falling into the water, but he was still conscious. While fighting to stay above water he saw the straw hat floating. Without a second thought he grabbed it and tied it around his neck and dove under to see if he could find his captain.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Truce

Sanji fought the waves and found Luffy. He was unconscious but Sanji managed to get him out of the water before he drowned. Sanji draped Luffy across his back and treaded water. He kicked his shoes off and that helped. They floated along and Sanji was able to see an island up ahead. Rearranging Luffy, he started to swim to the shore.

I didn't take him long to get tired. Luckly the storm seemed to be headed to the island so Sanji let the waves carry them, while he kept them from drowning. He couldn't see the Sunny, but hoped that this is the Island that the pose was leading them to.

* * *

Back on the Sunny the ship was being tossed like a rag doll. This storm wasn't normal. Nami thought it was turning into a hurricane. She felt anxious about Sanji and Luffy, the ship and crew. She felt useless and the more she kept up her negative think the worse she became. She ended up crying in a cornor. She was found by Usopp, who carried her to Chopper and he sedated her as well.

Chopper now had two patients to look after. He was doing a good job and making sure they stayed dried and that the ship didn't jostle them anymore.

Franky kept the ship from capsizing and noticed that it was veering off course. He tried to turn the rudder and correct it, but it was useless. They had no choice but to go were the waves took them.

The crew felt dejected. They lost their captain, and their navigator was out of commission. How will they survive this storm? The storm darkened their thoughts and they started to believe that nothing would be bright again.

* * *

The closer Sanji and Luffy got to the beach the calmer the water was. Sanji hoped that meant the storm wouldn't reach the island, but he wasn't hopeful. The water was also warmer. Almost too warm. The island was shadowed by the darkness of the storm and Sanji couldn't make out the details of the island.

Since he was reaching the last leg he strengthens his grip on Luffy and swam toward their destination. He crawled onto the beach, dragging Luffy to the sand and making sure that he wasn't in the water. He punched him in the stomach and Luffy expelled the water he swallowed and took a deep breath. Then he lied down next to him breathing hard.

The sand had a strange quality to it. It seemed more rocky than sand. He didn't care, he was tired. Eventually they fell asleep.

* * *

Luffy woke up stiff and hungry. The last thing he remembered was being on the Sunny in the storm. He looked about him and the storm had stopped but now he was on an island, a rocky one. he saw that Sanji was next to him, sans shoes, but he had Luffy's hat on. Seeing how he wasn't drowned at the bottom of the sea, it meant that Sanji had saved him. He sighed. Now he had to apologize, but he wasn't willing to wake him up and do it then. He crossed his legs and thought about what he would say and listened to the sound of the sea.

A short time later Sanji woke up with a groan. He tried to sit up, but everything hurt so he lay back down. He noticed that Luffy was awake as well.

There was silence between the Captain and the Cook. They didn't want to talk about what happened, but they knew that have to. Their friendship was at stake.

Sanji was the first to speak.

"Look, I'm…uh…gees…sorry, I guess," Sanji mumbled.

"Uh, yeah me too," Luffy said.

"It's just, I like her."

"You don't know her. How can you like her?" Luffy asked.

"I don't know I just do," Sanji responded.

"She's my girlfriend, you shouldn't like her."

"Oh, am I supposed to be mean to her. Treat her like an amoba?"

"No, but you shouldn't like her like you do."

"Look, everyone likes her. She's easy to like. She's beautiful, courageous and innocent…"

Luffy's face puffed up, "Hey, easy"

"Do you love her?" Sanji asked.

"I…I…" Luffy thought for a second, "I don't know,"

Sanji couldn't help but laugh. "For someone who doesn't know if he's in love with her, you sure are jealous."

"Well, are you?"

That stopped Sanji's laughter. "I don't know either, but I want to get to know her. If you don't know how you feel about her you can't be upset if someone else pursues her. Do you even know what being a boyfriend means?"

"No."

"Only you Luffy, only you," Sanji said shaking his head. "So this is what I propose: we both try to woo her and let her choose who she wants to be with. We'll have to get over our jealousy. Do you agree?"

Luffy was happy with this, he didn't how to woo anyone, but like everything he does he was going to go for it. "Yeah!"

Sanji held out his hand, "Truce?"

Luffy took it, "Truce."


	25. Chapter 25

***I love volcanoes! So of course my character loves them too!***

Chapter 25: Change of Pace

Now that was settled, Luffy and Sanji went to search for food. There wasn't much to be found. Sanji surmised that this island was a volcano. Whether or not this was their destination, according to log pose, was something that only Nami could tell them. He hoped that the crew made it through the storm and that they were headed here to pick them up. Until then, he and the captain made the best out of the situation.

Luffy hated the island. He hated the stupid burnt trees. He hated the stupid rocks. He was hungry, cranky. The island was one giant volcano, something called at Cinder Cone volcano that probably formed from a shield volcano, too many years ago (he stopped listening after a while). He didn't care what it was called. This island was dumb. After exploring for over an hour and no food being found, he was so over the whole thing.

They climbed a summit and were able to see the seemingly barren landscape. The few trees and sparse grass that had grown on the island grew in a particular pattern down one side of the volcano, Sanji explained that they were like that because of the lava flow patterns (again Luffy wasn't listening) and the trees were barren because of the toxicity of the air. There was smoke coming out the top of the magnificent pinnacle, but Sanji didn't think an eruption would happen soon. Luffy did find some strange plants hidden underneath some rocks he kicked over, but Sanji stopped him from eating them.

"But why?" he whined.

"Do you want to die?" Sanji said bluntly.

"No," Luffy whined some more.

"Look I can see the Sunny!" Sanji exclaimed, pointed at the horizon. The Sunny was just a tiny blimp in the distance, but the sight of it brought an enormous amount of joy to them. They didn't know how long it would take for their ship to reach them, but at least they weren't alone.

They had each other, and that thought sobered them. Just thinking about Sienna being alone on an island for ten years, with no food and little water made them upset. They were determined to focus on her and making her happy and forgetting their animosity towards each other.

* * *

Ship was battered, but it was nothing the Franky couldn't fix. The crew had bruises from being tossed around, but they were alive. They made it out of the storm and they saw an island ahead. The log pose was pointing in a different direction, but they needed to find Sanji and Luffy.

Usopp had the wheel while Franky and Robin worked on some basic repairs. Nami and Sienna were asleep and Chopper was watching them, making sure they were okay. They woke up after a while, and praised Chopper for taking care of them, much to his delight. It was part truth and part manipulation. They both disliked how they reacted to the storm and needed to do something to prove how strong they were (if only to themselves), so a blushing Chopper meant they could be free of his worrying. They immediately set out to help clean up; the pantry was a mess.

It took them until nightfall to reach the island. Nami confirmed that this was their next destination, but didn't know how long they needed to stay until the log pose showed them the next one. Luffy and Sanji were waving to them from the shore. So Zoro took the Mini Merry out to get them. Since he was the one person to encourage their stupid fight, everyone voted him to be the chauffer and bring them back.

* * *

Zoro was fine with picking them up. He knew by looking at them that they had resolved their issues.

"So, are you guys okay now?" he asked as him pulled up to the shore.

"Yeah, we're the best of buds!" answered Luffy as he slung an arm around Sanji.

Sanji nodded in agreement.

"We decided to pursue her together, but let her choose who she wants to be with" he said.

"Are you sure? You two aren't going to go at it when Sienna can't make up her mind?" Zoro asked. He thought this was an even worse idea than when they were jealous of each other.

They both got into the Merry.

"No, why would we?" asked Luffy. He picked this moment to pick his nose.

Ignoring the nose picker, he said, "You two are something else," and turn the Mini Merry towards the Sunny.

With Luffy and Sanji back on the ship, everyone cheered. Sienna was happy and hugged both of them, telling them to never, ever do that again. They promised her. The smile she gave made it worth it.

* * *

Then the crew questioned them about the island. By this time, Sanji and Luffy were fed by Sienna who wanted to show off her new skills. It wasn't a Sanji quality meal, but Sanji and Luffy enjoyed it nonetheless.

They told about the island being a volcano and how almost-barren it was. They weren't expecting Sienna to be squeal over it.

"I love volcanoes!" she exclaimed. Then she asked a series of questions in quick succession, "How big is it? What's the lava viscosity level? Are there pumice or obsidian rocks? What about granite? Did it look like it would erupt soon?" and with that last question she ran out the dining room to go look.

* * *

Sienna always had a fascination with volcanoes. She never saw one up close, so she was extremely excited to go see it. She started hoping from one foot to the next and begged to go. Luffy thought it was endearing, so of course he agreed. Usopp suggested that Luffy or Sanji escort her since they knew the island better. The look Zoro gave him chilled him a little bit and he almost took back his suggestion.

But, Luffy and Sanji didn't fight. They simply played a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Luffy won and he got to take Sienna on their first date. The volcano didn't seem as stupid now.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26: First Date

Sienna was waiting on the Merry for Luffy the next morning. Everyone deemed that visiting a possibly active volcano at night was an emphatic no, so they made her wait until morning. She barely slept (considering she slept most of the previous day anyways) and spent the night looking at the magnificent view. When morning came she was itching to go.

Nami and Robin made her wear a nice outfit (she didn't see why, since they'll be dirty by the time she came back) and styled her hair (again she didn't see the point and started to get irritated). When they finally declared that she was ready, she wasted no time getting to the Merry.

Luffy was equally as excited. He slept well and woke up just as ready as Sienna, until he remembered they needed food. Lucky for him Sanji was already up and preparing an adventure bento for them.

"It's just sandwiches, so don't go overboard. Make sure you don't get lost either," he told Luffy, "and make sure the Sienna gets more than one."

He agreed and took the bentos and met Sienna. He was shocked when he saw her. She was absolutely adorable. Nami and Robin managed to tame her golden brown hair into a curly ponytail that showed off her round face. She wore a blue v-neck t-shirt that had a rose design on the side and a pair of pale blue shorts and knee high boots. On Nami or Robin the outfit would accentuate every curve to the extreme, but on Sienna's small frame the outfit brought forth her femininity. For the first time Luffy recognized that Sienna is a girl; no a woman. And he was going on his first date with her.

* * *

Luffy so wished they could have taken the waver, but Nami refused. It was hers and knowing Luffy and his crazy ideas, her waver would most likely be destroyed by his carelessness. Besides, it was safer for Sienna.

Chopper took a majority of her bandages off, but not the ones on her ribs. They hadn't healed completely and he was anxious about the air quality. He warned them both to not overdo it and if she started to cough or wheeze then they would need to return to the ship immediately.

* * *

The ride to, what they've dubbed V-Island, was short. Sienna was glad, and as soon as they got to shore, she began to explore. She went from rock to rock, touching, until she found what she was looking for.

"Look at this Luffy!" she brought him a shiny sharp locking rock. "It's obsidian! Wanna tough it? Be careful though, it could cut you."

Luffy reached out gingerly and touched the obsidian. Surprisingly it was cool.

"Wow, it's so smooth. Almost like glass," he said.

"Because it is," she said.

"How?" he asked.

Then she explained to him how obsidian was made and he actually listened attentively.

"When hot lava hits the cold air too fast it turns into glass. Kind of like, when lightning strikes sand and it turns into glass. It's hard and brittle, thus it's very sharp," she explained.

"Cool! Can you use it as a weapon?" He was thinking about the famous black blades the great swordsmen have.

"It's rare, so I don't know. I mean who wants to go near a volcano to search for it? Besides me of course," she answered.

* * *

They put the rock inside a bag that Sienna had gotten from Usopp and moved on. She kept finding other really cool things like fossilized plants and shells. The trees that grew were almost like bamboo and she collected a fallen branch to take back and study more. Luffy found some mushrooms, but he didn't eat them. Instead he put them in their bag to take back for Chopper.

They had lunch on the ridge overlooking the sea that he and Sanji climbed the day before. There, they ate and talked. Sienna told him more about volcanoes and the destructive/cool power they have.

"Why do you love volcanoes so much?" he asked.

"Umm…" she thought for second, "because they remind me that the Earth is alive. And that life on Earth is fleeting. There isn't a point to hold grudges and hate, when it could all be erased by one eruption."

"That's…slightly depressing," he said.

She stuck her tongue out at him and then said, "It's not depressing its self awareness."

He laughed.

"Don't laugh at me, jerk" she whined.

It was endearing and acting on impulse he poked her in her side. She giggled and that was enough encouragement for him to full out tickle her. She tried to tickle him back, but he was touching her again in her most sensitive spots and it felt good. She moaned again and those sounds spurred Luffy to try something new. He kissed her.

It was sweet at first. She kissed him back and it wasn't as sweet, turning this into a full blown make out session. The only reason they stopped was because they needed to breathe. Of course when she took a deep breath it caused her to cough. Luffy declared that it was time to go, and helped her stand.

Before they could descend the summit fully, she was in pain (Damn her lungs!). She tried to hide it, but Luffy noticed. Being smooth he offered her a piggy back ride down to the ship. She took him up on his offer.

It didn't take long for them to get back to the ship, and Chopper started to fuss over her. She really didn't want to be away from Luffy.

* * *

As soon as they boarded the ship, Usopp pulled Luffy aside. Of course Usopp had been spying on the couple and he saw everything. Feeling mischievous, he wondered out loud how Sanji could top this date.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27: In Between

It was a week later that Sienna went out with Sanji. In that time, they had recorded V-Island into their journal and set off to the next island. Franky went nuts when he saw the obsidian and the unique wood from the island and only convinced Sienna to give them up so he could make her a special weapon. Franky got a design for a spear in his head while watching her first sparing session with Zoro.

Everyone watched it and they noticed how flexible and flighty she was when she dodged his blades, wooden of course, but he couldn't touch her. She stayed out of his reach. Unlike her first sparring session with Luffy, this one ended when Sanji announced it was lunch time. This was the first meal they watched Sienna's appetite match Luffy's. She got a good workout from Zoro and she was famished.

Sanji loved that his Si-chan had an appetite. When she helped him around the kitchen he never missed the opportunity to feed her. She gained a few pounds back within the week and was looking healthier than ever.

She liked the attention she got from Sanji. She didn't forget what happened between her and Luffy, but she didn't know what it meant. She enjoyed kissing him, but wasn't ready to go any further. She liked Sanji too and wondered what his kiss would be like. She did talk with Nami and Robin about it. They didn't encourage her to make a choice between the two. If anything they told her to worry about herself and less about love and relationships. They were pirates and life was too short (literally) to be tied down.

She loved her girl time with them, but she noticed that neither Nami nor Robin were the best examples when it came to love. Robin was too mature for love, preferring non-committed relationships and Nami's only love was for money and herself. Sienna wished she could be like them, but she had a long way to go.

* * *

She had scars and still had to be gentle in regards to her ribs, but she was happy sort of. There was this little voice that started popping up in her head. The voice asked, _"Is this real?"_ but she ignored it, choosing to be happy.

The crew noticed her bubbly personality. She had progressed in her lessons, managed to be a challenge to Zoro and Luffy, and she'd put on many concerts with Brook and Chopper (she was really good with the violin).

The crew fell in love with her and she officially became a Straw Hat when Franky unveiled her SUPER weapon "Dragon Glass Blade!" She squealed when he handed it to her and promptly knocked a hole in the side of the ship by accident.

"Sorry, sorry! Thank you! Sorry," she said and bowed. She still had the spear in her hand and was swinging it around, almost hitting anyone within a two meter radius, until Zoro took it and yelled, "Do you even know how to use a spear?!"

"Nope," she responded.

"You are so not getting this back until I say can," he was aggravated by a newbie having a dangerous weapon.

"Can you teach me?" Sienna asked him. She really wanted her Blade back.

"I can try. I mean it is a blade," he said, "is that okay with you captain?"

"As long as she doesn't get hurt, I'm okay with it," Luffy said. He thought she look sexy with the spear, but considering he almost lost a limb from her swinging it around carelessly he had to be responsible and get her trained before she can have it back.

"Yay!" she squeaked and hugged Luffy, before turning back to Zoro and begging to touch her blade.

Zoro relented, but told her to sit and not to swing it or move it all. He called Franky over to explain to her the secrets of her weapon, (there's no way a Franky made weapon wouldn't have secrets).

* * *

She loved her Dragon Glass Blade. The blade was steel infused with obsidian, and the shaft was wood painted navy blue with the Straw Hat Jolly Roger inscribed in white on the hilt. There was a black braided tassel underneath the blade that hid buttons that were preprogrammed to "add" to the awesomeness of the Dragon Glass Blade.

One button brought forth fire, because a weapon with "Dragon" in its name is not complete unless it shoots out fire. Another button shot out a deadly gust of wind and another one lightning. How Franky could make something like this was beyond anyone's understanding, but in the hands of professional it would be a deadly weapon. In the hands of inexperienced amateur like Sienna it was a catastrophe.

Needless to say, the Dragon Glass Blade was put on hold much to Sienna's chagrin.

* * *

It hardly seemed like a week passed when the next island was spotted on the horizon. Everyone was excited. Since only Luffy and Sienna and Sanji got to explore V-Island last time, everyone else wanted to get off and explore.

"Si-chan, would you like to accompany me on a tour of the island?" Sanji asked coyly.

With no hesitation she answered, "yes!"


	28. Chapter 28

***When you think of Shell think of New Orleans.***

Chapter 28 Sanji's and Sienna's Lovers Adventure

The island was large. It was more of a small continent with a beach front city with docks that extended well out into the ocean. The weather was perfect. They were greeted by a large sing the said "Welcome to Shell!" Franky docked the ship and Zoro volunteered to stay on board. A city presented huge chance for him to get lost, so he opted to guard (take a nap) the ship.

Sanji was escpecillay excited to get off, when he read the sign. This was a tourist island that was famous for its food, music and parties. "No one parties like Shell," was something Zeff, Sanji's adoptive father, used to say.

Once on the beach the crew split up. They needed a Varity of supplies so first they needed to shop. As the keeper of the money Nami designated how much each group got. Nami and Robin took Luffy and Chopper to go clothes shopping. Franky, Brook and Usopp stayed near the docks and hunted for the best deals on items for the ship. Brook was promised that he would be able to party later, but the Soul King had responsibilities. Sanji and Sienna was supposed to shop for groceries, but what kind of gentleman would Sanji be if he wasn't romantic. Especially since Usopp told him to step up his game, without telling him what happened on V-Island.

* * *

Sienna picked out her own outfit this time. She wore a thigh length gray skirt, a black Crimin tank top and a pair of Nami's heels, that she had practiced wearing the night before. She had braided her hair into one single side braid. She was adorable and Sanji loved watching her walk in front of him.

She led the way, stopping at everything that caught her eye. They stopped at a fabric shop simply because they had a stunning purple yarn on display. Then they explored an odds and end store that had random items, _"junk"_ Sanji thought, but the way she gushed over them was cute.

Then they had lunch at restaurant of her choice. She picked seafood and wanted some gumbo. Sanji was okay with it. The food was a bit bland to him. He tried his hardest not to be critical of the food, and to just enjoy being out with Sienna. His proudest moment came when Sienna used the knowledge she learned from him to talk to the head chef and politely critique the food. The chef was so glad that she was able to distinguish the intricacies of the gumbo that he had her (and Sanji) tour the kitchen. The chef complimented her, but she just waved him off saying, "Oh, I'm not that good. I just have a great teacher," and she winked at Sanji, causing him to blush a dark shade of red.

* * *

There were carriages they could rent for a guided tour around the city and pier, so after lunch they rented one. They tried to follow the designated path, but they took a little detour through a park. If they got caught they would just say they were lost.

Sienna felt at ease with Sanji. She flirted with him and definitely enjoyed making him blush.

"So, tell me. Do you act like this with Luffy?" he asked.

"Umm nope," she answered.

"Why?"

"I guess it's because he wouldn't flirt back."

"Are you saying that he's too honest to do it?"

"No. You're honest and very honorable. I think flirting requires a certain level of maturity that Luffy doesn't have. And besides, you're the only one I want to flirt with," she responded with a huge smile.

Sanji almost crashed the carriage.

* * *

It was near sunset when Sanji and Sienna decided to make their way back to the ship. They had done their shopping within the last hour. Sanji ordered food to be delivered to the ship, so they didn't have to rush back to cook dinner.

* * *

The crew was excited by the novelty of food being delivered to the ship. Sienna and Sanji hadn't come back yet, so Nami demanded that they wait until they came back to eat. When an hour had gone by, she had a very whinny and cranky Luffy. She and Robin had worked him to the bone with carrying all their crap and he was hungry.

"Where are they!?" he asked no one in particular.

"Stop whining. They are probably on their way back now. Just give them some time," said Nami.

He gave a frustrated moan. The food smelled so good.

"Maybe they're doing the same thing you and Sienna did on your date," said Usopp.

At this point Luffy was fed up with waiting and left the ship to go search for them. He wasn't angry about potentially finding them making out somewhere, but he couldn't eat until he found them. Franky went with him.

* * *

They didn't get far from the ship when the delivery men came running up to them. They were out of breath and scared. Franky demanded that they take a breath and then speak. Franky and Luffy did not like what they heard.


	29. Chapter 29

***I tried my hardest not to have a cliffhanger this time, but...***

Chapter 29: Teacher's Will

Jorge hated living in Shell. This city was too loud and constantly filled with noisy tourists. Oh how he could wish he could live anywhere else, but that was impossible. He was too old and had too many responsibilities as the school's only teacher. He taught every subject to children between the ages of 5 and 13. The local Shellians sent their children to other islands to study, so the purpose of the lone school was to placate the city's poorer residents who couldn't afford to send their children anywhere. It was a World Government sponsored school and anyone with above average intelligence could tell that it was a front for something sinister.

He knew he was a pawn in the government's game of subjugating the entire globe. He grew up on Ohara and learned from the best, Nico Olvia. However he was recruited by the government at a young age with the expectation that he would only be gone from Ohara for a year. That year turned into ten and then Ohara was annihilated. With no home to go back to he accepted his to die a slave.

He knew why he wasn't killed along with the other Devils from Ohara. He was a loyal slave who could read the ancient texts. Whenever they discovered something related to the ancient weapons or the missing century they came to him to decipher. By this point he had been trained well and knew not to go against the government.

* * *

He taught so many children in his lifetime and it brought him great joy to watch them grow up. He was known as Uncle Jorge throughout Shell and was someone to look up to. What little wealth he had, he gave to better his community, called Hill Row that happened to be away from the hustle and bustle of the seaside city, but somehow he could still hear the noise the city made. It was a forested area that had rolling hills and the people that lived there lived in wooden huts or caves.

Only a park separated Shell from Hill Row and the difference between the sections was astounding. Shell showed off its wealth. Hill Row had none to show. Those that lived near the park made sure that the tourists never saw the opposite side using creative signs to keep them away from the park: "For the enjoyment of the locals, the park is closed for guests. Thank you for visiting Shell."

* * *

Sienna and Sanji ignored this sign when they took their carriage through the park. It was mostly empty and they didn't get into trouble. It was at this time that Jorge saw them.

It wasn't unusual for tourists to be in the park, it was beautiful. That's why he was having lunch with his students in the park. Getting them out of the stuffy building was always the best policy. They ate and played, well the children played and he kept protective eyes on them. It was when he noticed one of the boys was not with the group and he stood up to look for him, when he saw Sienna.

He could never forget Sienna. He hadn't seen her since she was a toddler but she had the same baby face. He thought she was dead. She was one of the first experiments to be live past birth. Although he was told that she was a failure so he believed that she would have been executed years ago. His heart broke when he remembered all the "failures" that died and he wanted to go to her and talk with her.

But he had his students to take care of. He gathered them up and told them it was time to go back. They gave the customary groans and whined about it being a pretty day and being inside "sucked". Instead of admonishing them for using the word "sucked" like he usually did, he chuckled and said, "Yeah, yeah, it sucks, but let's get this day over with."

* * *

Once the day's classes were over, Jorge went in search of Sienna. He first thought was to look for her at the pier. He just so happened upon her walking with a young blonde haired gentleman, so he followed them for a while.

* * *

It didn't take long for Sanji to recognize that they were being followed. He causally looked back and noticed that it was an old man who kept up with them.

"I don't want to scare you, but we are being followed," he whispered to Sienna.

"Yeah I know, it's about three of them," she whispered back.

"Three? Where?" he asked. They had stopped at a flower shop and were pretending (or not in Sienna's case) to smell the evening blossoms.

"On the roofs," she answered while bringing a couple of petals to her nose to hide her mouth's movements.

"Are they all like the old man?" he asked, bending over to check the price on a potted fern.

"No, what old man?" She asked, this time looking around. Then she spotted Jorge walking towards her. There was something familiar about him, but she didn't think he was an enemy like the ones on the roof.

Sanji moved closer to Sienna and casually lit a cigarette, preparing for a fight. However Jorge walked up to them, handed them an overly patterned handkerchief and said, "Young lady, I believe you dropped this in the park," and kept walking.

* * *

Sienna looked at the handkerchief and saw that words were sown on it, almost imperceptible within the pattern. This trick was something her master used when passing on orders. She had to use her fingers to trace the otherwise jumbled message and knew what she had to do.

She reached up to hug Sanji, pressing their bodies close. She said out loud, "Thank you for the wonderful date!" Then when his shock wore off, and he took the cigarette out of his mouth, he placed his arms around her middle, she whispered to the crook of his neck, "We need to run, we can't go back to the Sunny right now. I know the way to go, but we just need to get rid of our tails."

"I'm on it," and he let her go (regretfully) and brought the cigarette back to his mouth.

She grabbed his hand and led him to an alleyway that had a set of stairs that led to the roofs above them. Before they could take a step up the stairs their pursuers dropped down.

"Really? This is some bullshit?" Sanji cursed. Their enemies were more of those creepy marine kids.

"Just because they're kids, doesn't mean you should hold back, Sanji," Sienna said. She was apathetic about fighting after she saw the kids. Mainly because she thought this would be the perfect time to use her blade and she was upset that it wasn't here. She was pouting before the first punch was made.

* * *

The fight lasted for only a few seconds. Sanji knew that it was because this group of kids was weaker than the ones they fought a week ago, but he was surprised by Sienna's reaction. He was worried that she would turn into the monster that Robin, Brook and Usopp witnessed. What he got was a bored girl who took out her opponent in two hits and waited almost impatiently for Sanji to finish. Once done, she turned and ran.

"You seemed disappointed," he said as he followed her through the streets of Shell.

"I just wish I had my blade, that's all," she said.

They bumped into a couple of waiters from the restaurant earlier. Sienna stopped, because she got the idea to have them deliver a message to the crew. She only managed to hand them the handkerchief before a loud shot rang out and Sanji fell.


	30. Chapter 30

***I made it to 30 chapters! Thank you all for your support and enjoy!***

Chapter 30: Meeting

Sanji heard the shot before he felt it. The impact of it made him fall to one knee and left him winded. He felt intense heat on his left shoulder and when he touched it there was blood. Sienna had crouched down and was looking for the origin of the shot. The waiters had run off as well as the bystanders on the street.

"We need to get undercover," Sanji said. He was more concerned for Sienna than himself.

"No, it's too late. We're already surrounded. This was a warning shot to remove the non-targets," she said.

"A _warning_ shot to my shoulder?" he asked heatedly. She was helping him take his jacket off and the pain was getting greater by the second.

"It's very clever. The witnesses saw you get shot, so they'll go find help. Now who would they get to help?"

"The Navy," he said.

"The Navy. Luckily they are already here. They'll be ever so helpful and we'd be remiss if we didn't accept their offer."

"Thus we'll be in their custody. Great," he said sarcastically.

"Well here's some good news, the bullet went straight through. There isn't much damage; with proper treatment you'll be good as new."

"With Chopper I would be good as new," he said incensed.

"Are you mad?" she asked teasingly.

"Hell yeah!" he was fired up.

"And your legs haven't been damaged. It's time to show off those moves, Black Leg Sanji!"

* * *

A fired up Sanji was a sight to behold and Sienna loved it. She loved it so much that she let him take out all the marines that surrounded them. She took the opportunity to rest and caught her breath; running was not her best idea, but at least she was able to get a message to Luffy and she wasn't wheezing this time.

Sanji went all out. The marines he fought were the adult kind so kicking the shit out of them brought him great joy. He didn't even notice the pain in his shoulder. He gave a fiery yell when he incapacitated the last of his opponents and only cooled off when he heard Sienna clapping behind him where she sat on a set of stairs.

"You're awesome Sanji! Keep it up!" she cheered.

Instead of cooling off, her praise warmed him up in a wholly new way.

* * *

Luffy and Franky followed the delivery guys, ready to kick some ass. When they told them that Sanji had been shot, Luffy was furious. No one messes with his crew.

They happened upon about a dozen marines, lying unconscious on the payment and Sanji being fussed over by Sienna.

"We need to get this shirt off, Sanji" she was telling him as she pulled on his shirt.

He had gone to sit next to her on the steps but he was light headed and ended up laying her lap. Not that he was complaining, but she kept trying to raise him up to get his shirt off and he so didn't want to move.

"How much blood have you lost Cook?" Franky asked when they reached them. He didn't like the way Sanji's shirt stuck to him.

"I'm fine," he mumbled into Sienna's lap.

"Luffy, we're supposed to be meeting someone, but Sanji's hurt," Sienna looked at Luffy. A non-verbal discussion passed between them, with Luffy agreeing to get meet the mysterious person.

Franky looked at both of them, understood what passed between and then said, "How about I take Blondie here and you two go?"

Sanji said something incoherent and then he passed out.

Luffy helped Franky arranged Sanji on his back and then Franky headed back to the Sunny. Sienna told them to be careful and then grabbed Luffy's hand, leading him to the meeting place.

* * *

"It took you long enough," Jorge said mockingly.

"Well, we ran into a problem," Sienna, responded. They were meeting in a cave, overlooking the ocean. It was difficult to get to and unless they knew the way, no one would know it was there. Sienna had directions, but even she would have had a problem getting to it if she was alone. Inside was only a few stools, a rickety table and candle stubs, some lit, some not.

"It was only three of them, what kind of problems…" he started to say, but then he noticed that the blonde gentleman wasn't with her. He nodded to Luffy, "what happened to the other one?"

"The other one got shot. This is my Captian," Sienna began.

"Captain? As in, pirate captain?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said

"Now I see why you've lived this long," He said.

"How do you know Sienna?" Luffy asked gruffly. He didn't like the familiarity between the old man and his girlfriend.

"I've know her since before she was born," said Jorge.

"Really?" Sienna asked.

"Although when we last spoke, you were three and called me teacher," he said, "here take a seat," he pointed to two stools that were positioned in front of him. They sat. Then he asked Sienna what she knew about herself.

"Ummm, I'm an assassin. Well was. Now I'm just a failure," Sienna dejected.

"Oh, Sienna you're not a failure. You're strong and beautiful and kind," Luffy said gently. She gave him a shy smile.

"Not to dismiss your Captains kind words," Jorge said, "but technically you are a failed experiment. You are what happen when people try to play god. Listen up as I tell you about what you were supposed to be. Although I am glad you didn't turn out that way."


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Memories

In the candle lit cave Jorge educated the couple.

"I am a part of a government assembly designed to combat the plague known as the Great Pirate Era. I'm the archaeologist. My job consists of making sure we don't repeat history. The only problem with that is the missing century. Of course, it's not missing to those who know how to find it,"

"Like Roger and his crew," interrupted Luffy.

"How do you know about that?" Jorge asked.

"Rayleigh told me," Luffy answered.

"Oh, well," Jorge continued, "you see the problem with that."

"Pirates can find out what the government wants to keep secret," said Sienna.

"Precisely. And, pirates aren't known to act for the greater good. Whatever Roger and his crew found out could turn the world upside down, for better or for worse. I guess we're lucky that they kept the secret to themselves, but they encouraged a piracy era far worse than its predecessors. Considering that there are more devil fruit users these days, the navy has its hands full.

Now, my job in the assembly was just to make sure no foreseeable mistakes were made. Unfortunately the assembly was filled with a bunch of psychotic and narcissistic men (no women allowed) who didn't like to listen to logic. They came up with an impossible idea that so far hasn't shown any negative results. Give it time and it will."

Here he paused and looked at Sienna. She looked back at him, not understanding fully what he meant.

Luffy was doing his best to listen and not zone off and think about dinner. His stomach growled but he didn't want to be rude and ask the old man to speed it up.

"We did have Dr. Vegapunk on this assembly, but he dropped out to focus on the Pacifista project. We got his apprentice though, Cesar Clown."

"I've met that sick bastard, he's one evil dick," Luffy interrupted again.

Jorge nodded, "He's not just evil, but creative. I'll assume that you know about his SMILEs?"

"Yea, we destroyed the factory though."

"Whoa, really!" Jorge was shocked this was news to him. He hadn't heard about what happened in Dressrosa. "I bet Dolflamingo, was not happy about that."

"Well I kicked his ass, so how he feels is irrelevant" he said bluntly. There was no boasting about it. He just said it as fact.

Jorge was shocked. He thought, _"Why haven't I heard any of this until now? But, maybe my predictions are already coming true."_

"So, I can just skip ahead then. Cesar's crazy plan was to create weapons to combat Devil Fruit powers. In the process he helped create the artificial Devil Fruits: SMILEs. He needed to experiment with these fruits on living beings and after failing multiple times, concluded that the younger the being was the better. He preferred children and went as far as embryos."

"We met some of those kids on Punk Hazard. They were giants because of the side effects," Luffy started.

"I'm not talking about them. I know who you are talking about and those kids are the successors of the Cesar's greatest creation: The Angels."

"Like the people of Skypeia?" Luffy asked.

"What's Skypeia?" Sienna asked.

"An island in the sky, and the people had wings," Luffy began.

"Oh, I remember now. That's the place you went to when you rode up that stream. What was it called?" she asked.

"The Knock-Up Stream, we-" he began.

"Okay, okay. Let's get back on topic. I'm amazed that you've been to Skypeia, but The Angels are not people from there. Young man, I would love to talk with you more about your adventures some time. But let's continue. The Angels are essentially 'humans', born with Devil Fruit-esque powers. They were bred and trained with the purpose of fighting Devil Fruit users. Somehow, they became a corps of assassins sent to do the will of the highest bidder." he sighed, then he looked at Sienna, "Sienna, you are an Angel, the first actually.

Although, they considered you a failed product, I'm sure when they find out about you they will want to know how you've survived to adulthood."

Sienna's mind went into overdrive. She had so many questions all clamoring to be asked. Her head started to hurt and she was on the verge of a panic attack. Luffy went to her and tried to comfort her.

Jorge was saddened by her reaction. He was used to being around Angels that knew what they were, that he didn't think she would be upset about it. He started to apologize, but Sienna stopped him.

"No need," she told him. "Give me a minute and I'll be fine." She took a few deep breaths, and then asked, "So…I have powers?"

"I don't know, do you?" Jorge asked.

"I've been stuck on an abandoned island alone, there's a lot I don't know about myself yet," she said.

"So, now you're a pirate. You'll probably learn as your adventure goes on," Jorge concluded.

"Tell us more about the Angels," Luffy demanded. He wanted to know how he could protect Sienna.

* * *

Jorge told him that The Angels had powers similar to Devil Fruit users, but without the weakness to the sea. They were harder to kill, but it could be done. The World Government routinely kills off the undesirables. They were used mostly as child assassins, and none that he knew of reached adulthood like Sienna. They were treated like weapons, or tools, and were often less than slaves. He was their teacher, until it was time for them to enter the Agoge, or training facility at an island only a few days from Shell.

The school on Shell was a ploy to disguise the fact that Shell was only the largest city to produce progenitors of Angels. The city had a significant population of residents living under the poverty line. It's easy to offer free schooling to families that had no other options to better themselves. The best and the brightest were sent off to become progenitors of the Angels once they've reached puberty.

"They were taught by me. Then I choose which ones to send off, all expenses paid for, and they are forced to breed Angels, possibly for life," he said remorsefully.

"That's a heavy burden to bear," Luffy said. He had decided that Jorge was a good guy.

"Yes it is. But it feels good to talk about this. I know I have a lot to answer for when I meet my maker, but I have tried to turn this to a positive," he said.

"How?" Sienna asked.

"You," Jorge said, "only if you choose to."

Without hesitating, she asked "What do I need to do?"


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Planning Operation Free the Angels

Luffy and Sienna made it back to the Sunny only an hour before dawn. They had talked with Jorge for hours, coming up with a plan to stop the creation of the Angels and make sure they would never happen again.

Luffy was excited to get to work, especially after Sienna treated him to food on the way to the Sunny. Shell never sleeps so many restaurants were open 24 hours.

When they boarded the ship, only Zoro was awake. He was happy to see the both of them and that they were safe, but he could tell that something had changed between them even though they were holding hands.

* * *

Something had changed. Sienna felt sick. She felt ashamed of herself; of her audacity to live even though so many others like her didn't. Luffy had also informed her that they had already been to the Agoge and that she had murdered the children there, furthering her disgust with herself. She wanted to help them, but she was scared. One mistake could have a heavy cost. She felt overwhelmed but tried hard to not let it show.

"Luffy, I'm going to go to bed," she said miserably.

"Okay," he said and he let her go. He held her hand on the way back to the ship, trying to support her. He knew that she was trying to hide her true feelings from him, so he didn't push her. He was worried about her, but was resolved the follow through with Jorge's plan.

* * *

He and Zoro watched her enter the girl's room. Then they sat and talked.

"We met an old man name Jorge. He knows Sienna and explained what she is," Luffy told Zoro.

"So she's more than a child assassin?" Zoro asked, as if a child assassin wasn't special enough.

"Yeah, she's an Angel," Luffy began then he told Zoro what he had learned from Jorge.

* * *

By the time Sienna woke up, Zoro had informed the crew about the Angels. Luffy went to sleep after he talked with Zoro. He was still asleep when Sienna awoke. She was alone in the room and felt a little better now that she had sleep, but knew that being alone any longer would ruin what good she got from her sleep.

She got up and got dressed, then joined the others on deck.

* * *

"Sienna!" Nami said going to Sienna, "how was your sleep?"

"Super," she responded and smiled giving a thumb up.

Nami wanted to hug her. She wasn't the only one. Chopper had no compunction about it and he jumped into her arms. Then the others sans Luffy joined him, even Zoro.

The tears came unbidden for Sienna. She had felt so alone, for a long time. While she's only been with the Straw Hats for a short time, she felt at home. It hit her suddenly that she will never be alone again and that thought gave her strength. By the time Luffy woke up, she was coming up with plans for Operation Free the Angels in the dining room with the others.

Franky had brought out a chalk board with several ideas written on it. Sanji (whose arm was in a sling) was being served tea by Sienna. They didn't bother to cook, but used the delivery service again. They had food saved for Luffy and when he joined them, Sienna brought out his food.

So far her ideas consisted of just following the next World Government ship to leave Shell and just taking over the ship. She was shot down on the basis that it could easily turn into a trap for them. Having no other ideas, she decided on letting them plan and she started serving everyone tea.

* * *

Luffy had the same idea she did. He was shot down and was told vehemently to go find something else to do. He just kept eating, unconcerned about their opinions.

"What about the Agoge island? What if we went back there?" Usopp asked.

"We could look at those maps again," Nami said.

"No. The island is possibly in ruins now from the fire," Robin

"Right," Nami agreed.

"So, those creepy kids we fought were Angels?" Franky asked.

"Yeah," Sienna answered as she refilled Brook's tea cup.

"Why were they so different from you? Besides you being the first?" Chopper asked.

"Jorge said that it was because those kids didn't think past the orders given to them," Sienna answered, "I've always thought and questioned everything. Sometimes I followed orders. Mostly I did my own thing. I used to get distracted a lot," she said.

" _Used to…"_ everyone thought.

"So, the younger ones have been trained to shut their minds off. Jorge suspects that they've possibly underwent a procedure to make it easier, but he doesn't have proof," she finished, and then started gathering up the dirty dishes from Luffy.

"But those were the ones at the Agoge. Since we can assume that they are dead, we need to find the ones who passed that stage," Robin said.

They all agreed, but no one could come up with anything further. They sat in silence for a while.

Sienna was washing the dishes when inspiration hit her.

"Use me as bait," she said.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Luffy yelled.

"No, listen…" she started.

"It's too dangerous Sienna," Sanji said.

Then everyone began to tell her why her idea was dangerous. She began to get irritated because they wouldn't let her speak. She got frustrated and said, "Look, I love you guys but please hear me out before you shut me down. All you heard was 'bait' and assumed the worse"

"What is your idea," Robin acquiesced.

"I'm a Straw Hat now. They don't know that, yet. They probably believe that I'm dead. How about I obtain a bounty for myself? Get myself known. They'll have no choice but to send one of them after us, right? Once they do that, we'll capture them and turn them against the World Government."

"How would we do that," Usopp asked.

"One step at a time, let's capture one first," she answered.

Everyone absorbed that idea. There was plenty that could go wrong, but the benefits, if it went right. were high.

Then Luffy said, "That just might work. Let's do it! Let's get Sienna a bounty!"

Everyone cheered!


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Preparations

Sienna couldn't sleep that night. Everyone had accepted her plan and spent the rest of the evening trying to figure out how to contain their future captive, with no success. With nothing set in stone, the crew went to bed and Sienna took the first watch. At first she observed the atmosphere of the pier. She enjoyed looking at the lights and wished she could be a part of the revelry. She finally had time to think about her time with Sanji. She kind of wished the night ended differently; more kissing and less fighting, but it couldn't be helped.

* * *

Towards the end of her watch Zoro woke up and joined her.

"Well this is a first," he said.

"What is?" she asked.

"Us, having a chance to talk without the others around" he said.

"I guess," She said nonchalant, "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"Do you know what you are doing to Luffy and Sanji?" he asked.

Sienna thought for a second and said, "No."

"Figures. You are about as naive as they are," he said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked. She didn't know whether to be confused or offended.

"At some point, you will have to choose between the two. Someone will get hurt in the process," he answered.

"Choose between them for what?" She asked.

He shook his head and said, "You'll find out."

She narrowed her eyes at him and pouted, "you're being cryptic and I don't like it. Just tell me." She crossed her arms.

"I won't, because telling you won't prevent it from happening. _You_ and those two will have to learn for yourselves."

"Do you like me," she asked bluntly.

Zoro shrugged, "I like you well enough. You're my crewmate and I'll fight to protect you. Will you do the same for me?"

"Yes!" she said with hesitation.

"Then that's all we can ask for," he ended.

They sat in silence for some time, then Sienna had gotten an idea.

* * *

The next morning, Sienna couldn't contain herself. She was excited. After explaining her idea to Zoro, he agreed (after tweaking it slightly) and he was going to bring it up to the rest of the crew. Zoro was confident that they will like her plan and told her to get some sleep.

She slept for a couple of hours and was woken by a hyper Luffy.

"Sienna! Get dressed! Let's go, let's go!" he yelled as he shook her awake.

Nami knocked him on the head and told him to leave the room. Fully chastised, he left but was not undeterred. He told his crew to put on their best fighting clothes and be prepared an awesome day!

* * *

Sanji refused to let an injury keep him from his passion. Against Chopper's advice he made breakfast feast for the crew. He didn't want to look like a weakling and it didn't help that Zoro kept antagonizing him. It was worth the pain when Sienna volunteered to help with the clean up. She only did it to stop Zoro and Sanji from bickering with each other. She finally understood what Zoro had said the night before about not liking someone but protecting them all the same. That is the relationship he had with Sanji.

After cleaning up the dining room Sienna prepared to get a bounty. Nami told her to dress cute for her wanted poster picture and helped her pick out an outfit. Robin braided her hair.

Luffy was annoyed.

"Oh come on! Is this really necessary?" he yelled at the closed door. The men were impatient. Zoro treathed to go ahead, but Luffy said "No, we all go together."

Nami replied, "Just give us a minute!"

Robin said, "God forbid her wanted poster turns out like Sanji's!"

That made everyone laughed and Sanji was red from embarrassment.

"Maybe you should look cute too cook. Then you'll get a bad ass poster like the rest of us," Zoro said.

"Shut the hell up moss head! At least I don't look a confused dumbass!" Sanji said in Zoro's face.

"WHAT!" Zoro yelled back.

Before the fight could escalate, the door opened. Their jaws dropped. All three ladies looked sexy and ready to fight. Nami had on tight black leggings (that were all the rage in Shell) and an oversized green button down shirt (with most of the top buttons undone). She put her hair up in a messy bun and accessorized with big white sunglasses, matching bangles and heels. Robin had on a purple polka dotted pin up sundress with black pumps. She used a purple calla lily pin to pin her hair to the side. The men were used to how those two dressed. What caused nosebleeds in all of them was Sienna.

Nami and Robin had bought clothes for her when they went shopping. So she had clothes that fit her. She wore short black shorts, a dark blue t-shirt with a deep v-neck exposing her cleavage and black ankle length boots making her legs look fantastic. Her hair was braided up into a ponytail. Her confidence was elevated and when Zoro handed her Dragon Glass Blade to her she gave an expert twirl and looked every much the Straw Hat.

Luffy couldn't contain himself. He wiped his face, leapt unto the balustrade and yelled "LET'S GO WILD!"


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Sienna's Bounty

They all leapt off the ship and walked up the docks, looking like the badass crew everyone thought they were. People moved out of their path, but they were curious so they followed behind.

"Who are they?" someone in the crowd asked.

"They're the Straw Hats!" another person answered.

"They're captain is worth four hundred million berries!' another one said.

"What are they doing here?" someone asked.

"Probably to raise hell!" someone said.

"Should we call the navy?" someone asked.

Luffy responded, "Hell yea!"

* * *

They met Jorge in the park. Jorge didn't know what they had come up with to attract the Navy's attention, but he had told to meet him in the park whenever they were ready. The naval outpost on the island kept surveillance transponders snails positioned in the park and that was how they knew Sienna and Sanji were there the last time. Jorge believes that they came after those two in order to capture Sienna because they were spotted in the park. With that in mind, the park became the place to be.

"So I assume you got a foolproof plan?" Jorge said.

"Foolproof? You've talked to our captain; you really think any plan would be foolproof? Nami replied.

"Hey!" Luffy said irritably.

"Haha, You're right, young lady," said Jorge before Luffy could argue more. "So, what do you plan to do?"

"Old man, do you like this park?" Sanji said while lighting a cigarette.

"Not in particular," Jorge responded.

Sanji took a puff and let it out, "Well you better leave then because we got a newbie with a dangerous new weapon," he said and indicated Sienna.

"I see. Well make sure you stay within the park and don't damage the side streets," he turned to leave, "my house is nearby and I'm really too old to move." Then he waved goodbye and left the young-uns to their mischievous plan.

* * *

Zoro turned to Sienna. "Alright newbie, let's not use the buttons yet. Let's just test the sharpness of the blade." Then he pointed to a tree with his Shusui, ran towards it, slashed with his blade and sheathed it before the tree came crashing down with a clean cut to the middle.

Sienna didn't have much luck. She picked out her target, ran to it and slashed. The blade got stuck halfway through and Sienna's hand slipped accidentally pressing one the buttons and the tree caught fire.

"Oops, sorry," she said.

Nami put it out the fire before it spread.

"Try again," Zoro commanded.

She kept at it for another fifteen minutes. By her fifth tree she was able to cut the trees cleanly into pieces. Of course she had set fire to a majority of the park. Nami managed to keep it contained inside the park but dowsing the fires caused steam to fog up their sight. It was alright with them. The fog made it harder for the marines to find them. Franky had invested in baby transponder snails and everyone had one (with Franky's additions) so no one could get separated from the crew; Sienna stuck with Zoro just in case.

When the marines started shooting that's when Luffy gave the signal for the crew to attack.

* * *

Jorge watched the pirate crew from the roof of his house. He enjoyed watching as the marines form up to tackle the problematic pests. No one at the post was even on their level, but they had strength in numbers. Ten pirates verses a thousand marines. Granted with the way the pirates were fighting, numbers meant very little.

It didn't take long before the marines came for him. They were evacuating the area and Jorge prepared himself to be among the other residents being herded into an underground evacuation center. He knew that the probability of him seeing the pirates again were slim so he said a silent prayer of good luck and left his home.

* * *

Sienna and Zoro fought back to back against a large group of marines. He had declared her proficient in slashing. Now she just needed to utilize those buttons for an on purpose attack. She was having fun setting marines on fire or electrocuting them. Zoro admonished her, "Hey, you're supposed to be training as well!" he said in between taking out two marines.

"Sorry," she said not in the least bit sorry.

"Do you want to use your blade again? Remember our deal?" he said.

Besides causing a massive amount of damage in a short amount of time, Zoro agreed to let her use her blade on the condition that she train with it and not "swing it around like a got damn stick!" If she didn't Zoro gets to take it from her again. She agreed with fingers crossed, _"as if I let him take it from me again,"_ she thought.

"Hey Zoro, there's one more button I haven't tried yet!" she announced.

"As long as you don't hit me, go for it."

She pressed it and it gave an audible click.

Franky gave a loud, "Uh-oh!" before he told everyone to duck.

Sienna felt a massive amount of power swell within the spear. She grabbed hold of it with two hands and had no choice but to slam the butt of it into the ground. A second later an immense shockwave irrupted from the tip of the spear, spreading out in waves, knocking over anything in its way. Luckily Zoro had ducked when Franky said so. The other crewmates did as well. Sienna was unharmed but every marine (and tree) was hit and sent flying. It tapered out before it reached the streets, sending debris everywhere.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed.

Zoro got up with a huff! "Gimme that!" and he snatched the Dragon Glass Blade from Sienna. Now that the attack was done, Sienna's arms ached a little. She was tired, and decided not to fight Zoro for her blade. It was definitely better in his hands.

Luffy had stars in his eyes and thought Sienna had the coolest weapon ever! Nami hit Franky scolding him for making something like that.

"Sorry! I was inspired that's all!" Franky said.

"Inspired by what?!" Nami yelled.

Before he could respond, Robin said, "I think it's time we headed back to the Sunny."

"Right!" Luffy said. "Back to the ship!"

* * *

It was the next day when they got the Coo News and Sienna jumped for joy upon seeing her one hundred twenty berry bounty. She didn't see the part that said she was wanted "Dead Only".


	35. Chapter 35

***So I'm getting sick. :( I was at least able to write this and posted for your enjoyment. Hopefully I feel well enough to keep writing this week. Don't worry I won't leave you hanging for long.***

Chapter 35: Playtime

Weeks had passed after Sienna's bounty was posted. They had several near misses with the navy and had an incredible adventure on a winter island. Still no Angels were sent after them.

Zoro had declared Sienna competent enough to use her blade. Franky had made her a cool sheath to cover it and she was able to carry it with her wherever she went. She didn't sleep with it though, but kept it close by. It was her favorite accessory.

They were docked at an inhabited island (they double checked it) that seemed to be all grass. Sanji called it Zoro's home and no one could stop that fight. Luffy thought it was funny and somehow inserted himself in it, so it was a three way Battle Royale. Sienna provided snacks for everyone as they watched serious Zoro, silly Luffy and perverted Sanji duke it out for hours. Bets were made on who would win. The fight ended when they wore themselves out and passed out among the grass. Brook lost close to fifty million berries to Nami because of the fight.

* * *

She was so grateful for everything the crew had done for her. Tomorrow they had planned to throw her a birthday party. During a conversation she had mentioned that she knew her age but didn't know her birth date, if she even had one. Sanji came up with the idea to throw her a surprise birthday party. He went to each crewmember trying to organize the event, but Chopper couldn't keep a secret.

With the secret out, the plan was changed slightly. The party was located to the island and Zoro and Brook cut a clearing in the grass. Franky and Usopp set up a large curtain so she couldn't see what was done on the island. Sienna was supposed to stay on board the ship until they say she should come out. Chopper was to stay with her to keep her entertained.

It was the night before and Sienna couldn't sleep. Nami and Robin were up and they decided to have a slumber party. They wore pajamas and braided each other's hair while they gossiped about the men. At least that's what Sanji told the guys about what happens during slumber parties. None of that happened of course, but a guy can dream.

The women just talked about the future. Both Robin and Nami had dreams that being a pirate helped them accomplished. Sienna hadn't had the chance to think about her future until then. They gave her a lot of options, and encouraged her to not worry about it too much. While it's nice to have goals, the future is never certain.

They talked until they fell asleep.

* * *

Sienna awoke during the night. She didn't know why, but she felt uneasy. She got out of bed, grabbed her spear and walked out of the room. Something was off.

Before she could figure what was wrong, she felt a sharp pain on her right cheek and she was thrown backwards into the door of the room. It shattered and she went through it, waking up Nami and Robin. They went to her, on guard.

"What happened? Are you alright" Nami asked.

"Yeah," Sienna responded. Besides a dull ache on her face she was okay. "Someone's on the ship!" she announced.

"I was hoping for a challenge," said a high pitched voice. Who it belonged to the women didn't know. They couldn't see them.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" Robin said with her hands crossed, ready to fight.

"I'm Teal!" said the disembodied voice excitedly.

"That is an odd name," Sienna said slowly.

"It's no different from yours," the voice said.

Sienna had gotten to her feet and went to the deck balustrade, looking for their unwanted guest. Robin used her powers to wake up the men and they came onto the deck.

"Well Teal, will you show yourself now?" Sienna asked.

"Hmmm…no. I want you to find me. I'm bored and I want to play."

"This is my ship. You can't play on it. You haven't asked yet," Luffy said.

"Can I play on your ship?" the voice asked innocently.

"Yea," Luffy replied.

Nami face-palmed and mumbled, "Incredible."

"How can you let an enemy on your ship?" Sanji yelled and he slapped Luffy's shoulder.

"What? I'm up for some fun. How about you?" He asked coolly and he put his hat.

Understanding dawned on his crew. Usopp complained about an allergy to playing with enemies. Chopper was conned into an unnecessary game of Rock, Paper, Scissors for who would fight first. Nami had already started her attack and the forecast called for cloudy skies and rising humidity.

Robin used her powers to search for Teal. It wasn't long until she found a green haired boy, seemly standing on the water, leaning against the ship.

"I found him!" she announced, "He's below us!"

Teal laughed and ran across the water towards the island. "Come get me!"

* * *

Everyone prepared to leave the ship except for Sienna. She was mad. It was her birthday and now she feared it would be ruined by Teal's arrival. It was bad enough that Teal managed to punch her in the face, now the son of a bitch was taking all her attention away. She crossed her arms and sat and pouted. Luffy noticed and asked her what's wrong.

"Nothing. I just don't feel like playing right now," she said curtly.

"Teal is clearly an Angel. We need to catch him. Remember our plan?" he asked. He was confused.

She hmphed and made no moves to get up from her spot.

Always the wise one, Robin said, "How about we catch Teal and he can be your present. You and Chopper stay here. Okay?"

That placated her somewhat and she said, "Okay." A part of her wanted them not to capture him, so she could kill him herself. Chopper tried to distract her, but the longer this went on the angrier she got. In the distance she saw flying grass and dirt and heard the clink of swords. Chopper tried everything to cheer up Sienna, but to no avail. Finally, after the sun started to rise about the horizon in the east, Luffy called Sienna.

"SIENNA! IT'S PARTY TIME!"


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Uninvited Guest

There was cake! When Sienna and Chopper joined the others on the island, she was still in a bad mood. Until Franky and Usopp pulled the specially made curtain back and Sienna saw the amazing effort her friends put into making her day special.

There was a stage that held a bunch of presents and a picnic table filled with all the sweets that Sienna loved. Sanji made sure to have actual food as well. The best part was a several tiered lopsided cake in several shades of blue.

"Who made the cake?" she asked curiously.

"We all did!" Luffy answered. He was excited to show Sienna his project. It was true that everyone helped on the cake. Sanji suggested everyone make one tier of the cake, since this was a birthday to make up for years of missed birthdays. Franky had made a portable oven some time ago (no one was sure why, but it was helpful) and everyone got to try their hand at baking. Chopper didn't make one since he was babysitting Sienna, but he did suggest the flavor and colors of icing. He told everyone different things because he didn't know they would combine it to one cake. So it was definitely unique.

Not everyone was good at baking. Sanji's, Nami's and Robin's tiers were perfect. They picked chocolate, red velvet and strawberry and their icing designs were perfect and symmetrical. The other's not so much.

Brook's cake was covered in layers of blue and white icing. It was more icing than cake. He used vanilla cake batter but had dyed it with several colors of food color, like a rainbow. Usopp picked a lemon batter, but he put too much lemon flavor in it and it was very tart.

Luffy wanted a meat shaped cake. Luckily he was stopped before he put actual chunks of meat in his and he did a marble batter (not on purpose, he tried to put both vanilla and chocolate together and that was the result) so he had a lumpy ball of cake with a childish drawing of the straw hat jolly roger.

Zoro picked carrot, but he accidentally put salt instead of sugar during the mixing. He tried to cover it up by putting extra sugar in it, but the taste was awful. Franky did tiramisu but he cooked it too fast and it was burnt on the outside and undone on the inside.

They put 20 candles on it and sang "Happy Birthday". Sienna made a wish and blew out the candles, and then she had a piece of all of them. She ate a ton of candy, sung a silly song and did a goofy dance and started a cake fight (using Franky's cake) before she was reminded about Teal.

* * *

He was tied down with some chains in a weird Battle Franky contraption. He didn't look uncomfortable but he so didn't like being ignored.

"HEY! HELLO! I'm still here!" he yelled, effectively stopping the celebration.

"What do you want?" Sienna said tiredly. No one else interfered in their conversation.

"Umm…can I have some cake?" he asked. "Not the under cooked one though."

"No" she said.

"But, why?" he whined.

"Because you haven't told me what you want. Until you do, no cake."

" _ **I**_ want some cake," Teal replied.

Sienna slapped a piece of Zoro's cake onto a plate, grabbed a fork and went over to Teal.

"Here," she said and handed him cake. He took it and gobbled it up.

"Thanks," as he licked that crumbs off the plate. "I always wanted to try cake." Then he smiled.

Pity overrode Sienna's dislike for the boy. She finally took a look at the boy. He had long, teal colored hair, a lanky frame and a triangular face. She also noticed his scars. There was one on his cheek that looked recent.

"Your friend with the swords gave me this. Don't worry, it'll heal soon," he said cheerfully.

"Why are you so cheerful?" she asked him as she sat crossed legged in front of him.

"I don't know. I've never been around another Angel before. Maybe that's it. Can I have another piece of cake? That last piece was yummy."

Sanji cut him a piece of his cake. "Since you thought Moss Head's cake was 'yummy' try mine."

Teal tried it and spit it out. "EWWW!" he said, and shocking everyone. Zoro laughed, making Sanji irritated. Words were mumbled and a fight started and that quickly ended with Nami knocking them on their heads.

Teal's reaction endeared him to Sienna. She laughed and decided to untie Teal.

"What are you doing? Why are you untying him?" Nami asked worriedly.

"Because he's like me," Sienna answered, removing the last of the chains and let him take a seat at the table near the awful cake.

"Yeah he's an Angel like you. He's dangerous," said a suspicious Usopp. Teal had sat close to him and he swiftly scooted away.

"No, I mean he's like me. He has a mind of his own," she answered.

"How can you tell?" asked Robin.

"Teal, do _you_ want to kill me?" Sienna asked him.

"No," he said without hesitation. He was focused on eating.

"Does your master want you to kill me?" she asked.

"Yes" he said in between bites.

Everyone except Sienna got upset.

"You touch her and I'll kill you!" Sanji said vehemently.

"Calm down Sanji. Let Sienna take care of this," said Luffy surprising everyone. He had devoured the discarded piece of Sanji's cake, but he kept a wary eye on Teal.

"Here's the thing: Teal seems to have a will of his own. Like me when I was younger. So chances are he probably won't hurt me," she said.

"No it's not that," Teal began. He thought for a second more and said, "My master tells me what to do and I do it. If I don't, I'll be punished. I can't do what I want. So, I will hurt you. I will kill you."

"So how is it that you are eating my cake?" Sienna asked.

"I wanted some cake. My master didn't say anything about me not eating cake."

Sienna got up from the table and stretched. Then she started for the Sunny.

Without looking back she said, "I'm getting my blade. When I get back we'll finish things, Teal. Then I'll open presents."

"Okay!" he shouted cheerfully.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Bloodlust

Two Angels clashed in an unbelievable battle on a grassy island. The Straw Hats barely had time to move the party accoutrements to the ship. The fight began as soon as Sienna disembarked with her blade. She slashed downward and Teal parried with his foot. Sienna sent a wave of fire as she twirled away and sent a kick to him. He crossed his arms to block it but the force sent him back quite a ways. He recovered in less than a second and dashed forward aiming a feint towards Sienna's face. She dodged but was hit by a surprise punch to her middle. She was knocked backwards and Teal was on her before she could stand. She rolled over with him and used the butt of her spear to pin his shoulder as she stood up. She sensed his next move and jumped out of the way.

Teal stood up and the opponents looked at each other. They were both out of breath and sore. Teal had burns on his arms and Sienna possibly had broken ribs and a scrape on her forehead.

"I wonder…" Teal began as he settled into a fighting stance.

"You wonder what?" asked Sienna as she aimed her blade at him.

"Can you do 'Bloodlust'?" he asked.

Before Sienna could asked what that was she heard a click and slashed upwards with her blade. Next thing she knew, she heard Luffy's voice as he held her. "SIENNA STOP!" he yelled.

"She asked, "why?" Then she tried to aim her blade at him. He used his body to trap her and she couldn't move. She grew frustrated and wanted to break free. She struggled but that made Luffy hold her tighter. Then she screamed her frustration.

Sanji went to them and took a hold of her face, bringing his lips to hers. The kiss brought her back to her senses and tears flowed down her cheeks as she dropped her blade. Luffy let her go and she dropped to her knees. Sanji went down with her and she cried in his lap. Luffy took his hat off and placed it on her head, using it as a cover. He turned to leave but Sanji told him to stay and he sat next to his friend and girlfriend.

* * *

"Bloodlust is…umm," Sanji said, and he took a second to figure out what he was going to say. They were all on board the Sunny and inside the dining room. Luffy and Sanji let Sienna cry for as long as she wanted on the Island. They didn't talk, just let cry until she was ready to stop. When she felt better they went back to the ship.

* * *

Chopper was taking care of Teal. Sienna had inflicted an almost fatal wound on Teal; cutting him from left hip to right shoulder and slicing his right arm off. It was because he was Angel that he survived and was already healing. It freaked Chopper out when Teal's arm started to reattach itself; the cells in the arm began to seek out the body and he moved the arm closer to the body. However, like the professional he was he tried to make sure it reattached properly (swallowing the bile that threatened to come out). As soon as the epidermis connected Chopper guessed that the muscles, tendons, and bones must be healing so he bandaged the arm in a splint so that Teal arm wouldn't heal crookedly. The burns Teal had were disappearing and Chopper felt that his patient could be healed up in a few hours. So he left him in his office and went to check on Sienna.

* * *

Sienna was healing as well, but not as rapidly as Teal. She appreciated Chopper fussing over her and she did her best not to let her guilt show. She felt exhausted and Luffy forced her to take a nap; promising her that she could open gifts when she woke up. So she had gone to bed. Zoro was in charge of watching her and he kept her blade next to him.

* * *

The others gathered around to discuss what happened. Only Sanji seemed to know. He finally figured out what he needed to say.

"It's an extreme state of being. Angels are designed to go into this state when they are fighting anything not wholly human, so, Devil Fruit users, Angels, giants and animals are. There is a trigger sound that Angels hear and they go into that state."

"What kind of sound?" Usopp asked.

"I don't know. We've only seen her in this state twice. The first time was on the island with the other Angels. While in that state, Angels are conditioned to kill non-humans. No matter what they must kill all non-humans in her vacinity," he said.

"Okay, how were you able to stop her? How come she didn't come after Robin the first time?" Usopp asked.

"Simply put, I as a human invaded her senses. She could smell, see and taste me. Robin must have been masked by you and Nami the first time. This time if Luffy hadn't grabbed her, she would have gone after him."

"So in this fight, Teal must have triggered the bloodlust in himself, and Sienna was just caught in it," Luffy said.

"Yep," said Sanji as he lit a cigarette, "and he lost incredibly."

"Sanji, how do you know so much about this? Why didn't Jorge tell us about this?" Nami asked.

"I don't think Jorge knew. He didn't teach them to fight, that was left up to handlers. There's probably a lot he doesn't know about them. I found out from a friend on Winterlandia. She suspected that Sienna could use it as a weapon if she could learn to control it."

"She won't even try, will she?" Luffy asked. At that moment he understood why she hadn't told him, but he wanted to hear it said out loud.

"She didn't want to hurt you," was Sanji's response.

"So what do we do about Teal?" he asked. "I'm all for dumping the little shit in the sea and moving on."

Everyone agreed with Luffy. Knowing that Teal could trigger this bloodlust not only for himself but for Sienna as well made him even more of a danger for the crew.

"We can't, he's our bait remember?" Nami said. Their plan to capture an Angel was turning out to be the worst thing they could do.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Potential Purpose

Sienna dreamed about an epic cake fight. She wasn't fighting her fellow crewmates, but a bunch of children, all with strange personalities and appearances. It was the most fun she has ever had. She awoke reluctantly. She pulled the blanket over her head and curled back under it.

"If you're awake Luffy wants you to open your presents," said Zoro, surprising Sienna.

"Why are you in here?" she asked grumpily. Now that he mentioned presents, she wouldn't be able to back to sleep. Plus she was sure that he was being another babysitter. _"Seriously, why do they think I need a babysitter all the time?"_ she thought.

"I'm here in case Teal decides to fight you again," he responded. Then he got up and stretched.

"So you're not here to babysit me?" she asked suspiciously.

"If they didn't want you to hurt yourself, why would they put me in here? It's not as if I'll stop you," he said.

She didn't believe him but let it go. "Okay," she said then she got out of bed and followed behind him to join the others in the dining room. On the way he gave her blade back.

"I cleaned it for you," he said.

"Thank you," she smiled thankfully. Zoro didn't respond back, but he had a small smile on his face as he walked into the room.

* * *

"IT'S TIME FOR PRESENTS!" Luffy yelled. He jumped up and grabbed a poor wrapped gift from the pile. "This is from me!" he said.

"Clearly," Sanji mumbled.

Sienna remembered celebrating Ace's birthday years ago and how Dadan had given him a wrapped gift. He was told to just rip it off, so she did the same. Inside was one of Luffy's old shirts that he had attempted to sew a design on (Brook finished it for him). It was a blue shirt that had SIENNA with a straw hat on top on the back. She thought it was awesome.

She got a journal from Robin and silver arm bangles from Nami. Usopp and Franky redesigned her blade's sheath and added some extra features that no one was excited about. Sanji took an old apron and dyed it and added pockets. He also unveiled a hidden book of recipes that were only for Sienna. Zoro just wished her a Happy Birthday and since he had taken the time to clean her blade for her, she considered that to be his gift. Brook gave her sheet music and told her to "make her own sound," whatever that meant. Chopper's gift almost made everyone cry. He had made a collage using their wanted posters and he colored it using paint.

Luffy declared that it deserved to be where everyone could see it and they hung it up on the wall outside the room.

The rest of the evening turned into a continuation of the party. They still had some cake left from earlier and Sienna stuffed herself full of sweets.

* * *

Before the night ended, Teal woke up. He was extremely sore and could barely move, but he had to pee. He staggered out of bed and out the room. He went to the railing and urinated over the side. That's how Sienna found him.

"You know we have a bathroom," she said.

"At least wash your hands," Sienna said disgustedly.

"Nope, I didn't use 'em," he said taking the opportunity to wave his bandaged arm.

Sienna sighed and then leaned up against the wall. "So what do you want to do now?" she asked.

He leaned against the railing. "I could go for something to eat," he said.

"Do you still want to kill me?" she asked.

"I tried, I failed. I was only given one chance to do it. I wasn't told to keep trying until accomplished."

"Are you going to get in trouble?"

"If I go back to my master, I will."

"So don't go back," Sienna shrugged.

"Where will I go then? Should I stay here? Should I be a pirate like you?" he asked.

"You should be whatever you want to be. I suggest you think on it."

"Do you know what you want to be? You can't stay here. You're wanted dead by the world government. The next Angel they send might not be affected by your charm as I am," he said casually.

Sienna smiled. "I'm affected by your charm as well."

He gave a watery smile back as tears flowed silently down his cheeks. She went to him and pulled him close. She didn't cry, but kissed the top of his head, pouring all the love she got from the crew into it. "Stay the night. Eat some cake. Take a bath. You don't have to leave yet," she told him.

* * *

Luffy was fine with Teal staying the night on board. He trusted Sienna's judgment. The others didn't bother trying to change their minds. Sanji made him eat actual food (Sienna snuck him chocolate chip cookie with salt sprinkles afterwards). The ladies tricked him into a bath and he got to join the straw hats in the party. Turns out he has the voice of an angel (pun intended) and knew a lot of songs from his travels around the world. He became fast friends with Brook.

Sitting back and watching Teal, Sienna had an epiphany. She took out her journal and wrote: Angels Have Birthdays Too.


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Angels Have Birthdays Too

Luffy saw Sienna sitting alone writing in her journal. He went and sat next to her and watched her. He respected her privacy and didn't spy on her writings, but he was really curious. She was really focused on what she was writing and Luffy couldn't help but to notice the change in her. He had watched and tracked her progress since she boarded the ship. In only a few weeks she's gotten stronger and _"more beautiful,"_ he thought.

"Luffy, why are you staring at me?" Sienna asked without looking up.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to," he responded embarrassingly.

"You're being nosey. You want to know what I'm writing," she said smugly.

"Well, if you want to share…"he said.

"I don't," she said trying not to laugh at how uncomfortable he was getting.

"Well that's fine. You're entitled to your privacy. I just wanted to help if I could," he pretending to be sad.

Sienna narrowed her eyes and said, "You're being manipulative."

"No I'm not," he said casually. He stretched and got up like he was going to leave.

"Fine, you can look," she said hurriedly causing him to giggle. She called him a "jerk" as she handed him her journal.

"I got what I wanted though," he said playfully.

"Boo!" she whined at him.

He started to read:

"Angels have Birthdays too. They are born, albeit unusual. They live and can die, but for all intents and purposes they are immortal. They are definitely not human. By any means they are dangerous, but can they contribute to the world in a positive manner. Are they children? Can they celebrate birthdays? I am an Angel but I'm the first to 'live' to adulthood (if being stranded on a deserted island is living), so what separates me from Teal? I think not having a master could be the answer. But, Lady seemed to love Amber, but she had to kill her for her own sake. Would Amber have been different given time to grow? What is the answer…?"

"Who are Lady and Amber?" he asked.

"Lady is the friend Sanji mentioned earlier. The one we met in Winterlandia. She was a master and had to kill her Angel, Amber. She's never recovered from that."

"Why did she kill her Angel?" he asked.

Sienna didn't want to answer and found an excuse to give. "Hey, I don't feel comfortable sharing Lady's business like this."

Luffy was suspicious at her answer and refused to let it go uncontested, "So, you were comfortable sharing her Angel's name and the fact that she had to kill them, but not why…"

"Drop it Luffy," she said calmly. He didn't. He asked and again and again but was refused each time. The more he asked the angrier she got. He figured that it had something to do with Bloodlust. And he wanted her to admit that she needed to learn how to control it. Eventually this turned into a huge argument between that got the attention of everyone.

"LUFFY! YOU'RE BEING A ROYAL PAIN IN THE ASS! LET IT GO!" she yelled at him.

"I'm you're captain right? Follow you're captains orders and tell me why? Why did Lady have to kill Amber? Why won't you learn to control Bloodlust?" he yelled back.

"NO! So you can fuck off, captain!" and she snatched her journal out his hands, ripping out a few pages. "Damn it!" she exclaimed and she stalked off to the girls' dorm, slamming the door in the process.

"Well that was smooth?" Zoro said sarcastically.

"Actually, I have an idea," said Sanji.

"And what is that?" said an infuriated Luffy.

The trio had gathered together at the helm. The others were trying to comfort Sienna but she refused to let them in the room. It was clear to all that she was crying. Teal hung back, unsure of what to do. He couldn't understand how someone could defy an authority figure like that and his brain practically overheated from thinking too hard.

"She has to learn, why not now? Seems as good a time as any," Sanji said.

"You mean by force," Zoro said.

"I don't think we could be gentle about this. I don't fully trust Teal and while he's on board the ship he could trigger it at any moment. I much rather have her in control of it before that happens," Sanji said.

Before they could finish planning they heard a ringing coming from the transponder snail in the dining room.

The snail never rings (with good news) so it surprised the crew and no one moved to answer it. It stopped ringing then a few seconds later it started again. Luffy stretched his arms and crossed the deck. He decided to answer it. Nami had the foresight to stop him, and asked (demanded) that someone else answer it. Every time he's answered the phone something wrong has happened.

They decided to draw lots (excluding Luffy) and Sanji was picked. Everyone gathered around the snail and they even coxed Sienna out of the room to listen.

"Hello, hello," he said casually into the receiver.

"Umm, am I speaking with the Straw Hats?" said a very high pitched voice.

"Ye—," Luffy started but Usopp put his hand over his mouth to shut him up.

"No you have to wrong number. Honest mistake," answered Sanji, preparing to hang up.

"No I don't think I made a mistake. See, this snail has a direct connection to the Straw Hats. I wouldn't expect the Heart pirates to have a faulty snail. Oh look a vivre card! I wonder who this leads to—," there was a loud thumping sound on the other end.

"Straw Hat-ya! Don't listen to this…thing!" said Trafalgar Law.

"LAW!" Luffy yelled and snatched the receiver from Sanji. "Law, what's going on?"

"So this is the Straw Hats! Oh, goodie! I'm Jade and I've taken the Heart Pirates captive. I was told to kill them, but if I do that then you wouldn't come. Hostages work better in this situation. I need to kill that abomination that's a part of your crew."

"If you hurt them…" Luffy started angrily.

"Oh honey, I already have! They're not dead yet, so you give me the ex Angel and I'll let them go. I promise! Oh and before you get any ideas of rescue, just know that my master is very smart and has set my brothers and sisters to attack the other members of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet in a week's time. Teehee! So let's coordinate this exchange expeditiously. I'm bored and attacking pirates is so beneath us."

Luffy said, "If you have my vivre card then come find me," and he slammed the receiver down.

"Luffy…" Sienna started, but he ignored her and chose to pull Zoro and Sanji away from the group. They whispered for about five minutes before Sanji called Teal over. About thirty seconds later Sienna heard the ringing in her head. "Fuck!" she cursed and blacked out.


	40. Chapter 40

***Wow 40 Chapters! I'm so happy you've made this journey with me! Stay tuned for more delicious drama. And if you haven't already, please check out my vignette for called Winterlandia. It's just a short adventure with Sienna and Sanji. Here's the link: s/11741453/1/Winterlandia Happy Reading!***

Chapter 40: No Choice

Luffy getting the crap beat out of him by Sienna was well deserved. Zoro, Sanji and Teal managed to get the out of control Sienna to chase them onto the island, unfortunately not before she attacked the captain. Nami and Usopp added insult to his injuries by berating him for his stupidity.

"Enough!" he yelled. "We have no time for this! Sienna needs to get her Bloodlust under control, before we rescue Law. He's our friend and we have to help him"

"Sienna is our friend as well," said a tearful Nami, "you took her choice away." She was afraid of Sienna while she was in this state.

Luffy said fiercely, "I know, but I trust her 100%!"

Seeing their captain's strong conviction, reassured them.

"I guess we have no choice but to help out," said Franky as he headed to the door. In the immediacy of the fight, Zoro only managed to grab one of his swords. Franky grabbed the other two and Brook grabbed Sienna's blade as he followed.

"No Brook, you stay here," said Luffy. "You, Chopper, Robin and I must stay on the ship. Teal said it would be better if no devil fruit users were near her."

Brook complied and handed the blade to Usopp, who really didn't want to help (his can't-fight-bloodlusted-angels disease was acting up). Franky pumped up his ego by calling him God Usopp and telling him to lead the way. Nami dried her tears and was determined to bring her Sienna back.

Sienna felt on fire. She was angry at the nerve of Luffy, Sanji and Zoro. She had yet to satisfy her need to kill. She started with the bastard in the straw hat, but two gnats got in her way. For some reason she couldn't kill them like she wanted. But she didn't know how she wanted to kill them, so she would pause then attack. Pause then attack.

Unlike the last few times, she wasn't cold and mechanical in her actions. She didn't just attack, like a machine. She was enraged and Zoro and Sanji saw that as progress. They saw a thinking being, albeit one out to kill them. Teal matched her Bloodlust with his and he distracted her from the pesky gnats. Teal had told them that they would know she had control when she'd focused all her attacks on a single opponent. So far she attacked whoever got in her way.

It became a game a tag. Whenever she got too close to one, another appeared to pull her attention away. Her thoughts were scattered and the pieces didn't make sense. "Why am I so mad?" she thought then she stopped completely as her ability to think disappeared. Teal warned them that that was not good and that they needed to make her mad again and to get her thinking.

The longer this game went on the more tired they became. Zoro took to giving her non-lethal cuts trying to elicit a response. No change. Nami shocked her with lightning. No change. Usopp used his Pop Green and create vines to tangle her in. No change. Franky came up with an idea.

"Hey cook!" he yelled for Sanji.

"What is it?!" he yelled back.

"Make her jealous!"

"How? And will that even work?" he incredulously.

"Be your super perverted self!" he responded and he struck a pose.

"Hey, yeah that could work. Sanji kiss me," Nami said. Before he could freak out at this request she added, "On the cheek dumbass!"

Sanji had waited for an eternity to hear Nami to say those words, but his heart wasn't in it. They stood awkwardly next to each other within eyesight of Sienna.

"Now what?" he asked.

"Pretend you're kissing her. Put on a show," she said.

So he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close. He brought one of her legs around his waist, twisted and dipped her low, kissing her on the cheek but giving the appearance of giving her a passionate kiss.

Luffy yelled, "Sanji how could you?!" from the deck and Chopper had to hold him back. Robin soothed him by informing him that it was just a kiss on the cheek.

"Why is her kissing her anyways? They need to be focused on Sienna," he said.

"I can only assume it's a part of his strategy," said Brook.

"Seems like a dumb one to me," Luffy said.

"But I think it worked," said Robin.

For a moment she was losing consciousness, until that happened. As the darkness threatened to overwhelm her she saw two lights, one close and the other farther away. She focused on the closest light and it turned into Sanji. She saw him kiss Nami and her cooling rage heated up again.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" she yelled as she broke free of the vines and attacked Sanji. The others tried to interfere, but all her attention was for Sanji, who never attacked back; just defended himself. She landed quite a few blows, but none of them were damaging. She took her blade from Zoro (who picked it up earlier) and made to strike Sanji, which set everyone on edge. But she didn't. She looked for its sheath and found it near the shore. Once sheathed, she used it to tap Sanji on the head.

"Why did you kiss Nami?" she asked.

"To make you mad," he smiled

"That was low," she said irritably.

"Don't worry it was only on the cheek. Besides it worked. Welcome back," he said with glee.

"I hate all of you," she said curtly.

"But now you have control of it, right?" Teal asked.

"I don't know," she said.

"Only one way to find out: Put yourself into it," he said.

It took a few hours, but by dawn she was able to fully control her Bloodlust state. She was able to fight Luffy without going as far as killing him, although she made him go Third Gear before she could be subdued.

Covered in blood and dirt, Teal and Sienna took a bath together before going to sleep.

"You know, today was fun," he said as she dried his hair.

"Well when we celebrate your birthday, let's hope there won't be any fighting," she said with a smile.

For the first time ever, Teal went to bed truly happy. He wondered on long it would last.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Kids With Guns

Teal slept for a few hours before he was woken up by…something. He couldn't figure out what woke him, but he felt uneasy. Something was off. He had slept in the boys' dorm with the other guys but now it was empty. He got up and got dressed enough that Sienna wouldn't scold him about his appearance. She informed him the night before that he needed to wear some sort of clothing one hundred percent of the time when he decided to leave the bathroom without dressing. He had complained and whined, which made Sienna happy for some reason, and they compromised. As long as he had on pants, no one would bother him.

He tried to keep his thoughts on his clothing but whatever feeling that woke him was distracted him. He almost bumped in Sanji as he was leaving the room.

"Good, you're up. I was just coming to get you for breakfast," Sanji said.

"Okay," Teal said distractedly.

Sanji noticed how skittish Teal was acting but decided not to comment about it. He had the boy follow him to the dining room where the crew had gathered. Sanji had told Sienna to rest while he did the cooking for the day.

The mood was definitely not festive. There was a cloud of worry about the crew. Even Sanji's cooking was gloomy. It seemed that everyone ate just to have something to do.

Like a moth to a flame, Teal had gravitated toward Sienna, making a place for himself between her and Luffy. They were deep in a conversation and Luffy choose not to simply picked him up and move him to the other side of the table. He found his way back. Luffy moved him again. It would have been comical if Teal hadn't look like a scared puppy. Sienna felt his agitation and she too was nervous.

"What's wrong, Teal," she asked.

"I don't know," he shrugged. As the minutes passed his need to be comforted by Sienna grew. The rest of the crew watched their interaction and each one felt their anxiety, but with it came their courage and resolve. Each one wanted to do whatever they could to protect their Angels.

* * *

Teal ended up in her lap and they were holding each other, shaking in complete terror.

"They're here," Sienna said ominously.

"Where?!" Luffy yelled as went onto the deck. He didn't see anything, but he remembered that Law had a submarine not a normal ship.

"Franky we need eyes under the water!" he said.

"On it captain," and Franky went to the tiller and started the docking system while Usopp went below.

Sanji went to Teal and Sienna and tried to coax them outside. Their terror unnerved him and it made him ask, "It's not Jade who's here, is it?"

"Jade's here," Teal answered and Sienna replied, "And so are our masters."

He was taken aback and asked, "But you're masters are humans right? Why are you terrified of them?"

Sienna looked at him and said, "He's the one who told me to die." She had to say no more after that. Sanji understood that these men had power over Sienna and Teal. He thought about what these men could say and what they could make them do. He thought about the state Sienna was in when they first found her and how much progress she had made. He was furious that this asshole was here. He was fired up. He left the cowering angels and went onto the deck. He spotted Luffy standing on the railing looking out over the sea.

"Hey Luffy! You should know that Sienna's master is here," he said.

Luffy didn't say anything but his demeanor changed. The others positioned themselves in strategic positions on the ship.

"What do you plan to do," Sanji said while lighting a cigarette.

"What I always do: kick his ass!" Luffy said cruelly.

* * *

"Really?" said a high pitched voice. As one the crew turned to the helm to see a girl with braided deep green hair. She looked a lot younger than Teal; she was small and compacted. If she hadn't radiated power (and they were anywhere else) they would have thought she was a toddler. In fact that was her ruse. She looked so innocent; she many victims were caught by her childlike exterior.

"I would love to see you challenge my master," she said in her high sing-song voice, "but I have other things to do."

"Where's law!" Luffy yelled and he started towards her. Before he could continue, Teal and Sienna burst out of the dining room and attacked together in full bloodlust, taking Jade unawares for second.

She recovered enough to block but she was sent backwards towards the island. She landed on her feet in the grass. She laughed and switched into bloodlust and attacked Sienna.

Sienna used her blade to parry Jade's punch and twisted and aimed a kick at Jade. Jade did split to dodge and Sienna aimed a strike with her blade at her. She tried to roll out of the way but was cut on her thigh. The blade had cut her deeply and it was hard for her to stand.

Teal targeted a volley of punches at her and she managed to jump out of the way, letting him strike the ground and laughing at his attempt. Her laughter stopped when she got cut again by Sienna's blade.

Thanks to their all night fight session, Teal and Sienna were able to fight in tandem against an opponent. Jade's sole target was Sienna and so she focused all her attacks at her. Teal was an afterthought and that was her undoing.

They tried not to kill her. Sienna didn't want to be responsible for another death and Teal didn't feel like killing anymore. They had agreed to disable her and try to capture her. They focused on removing her limbs, knowing that they could be healed after some time.

Jade had a mouth on her. She took every chance to insult her enemies. She was arrogant and overconfident. She was in the midst of challenging Sienna's blade by standing directly in front of it, when Teal punched her in the lower back and she went forward and impaled herself. The blade went straight through her heart. It wasn't enough to kill her but she laughed and moved too hasty, trying to remove it. Sienna moved at the same time and the blade sliced through upwards removing Jade's head.

Both Teal and Sienna were shocked. In the seconds for Jade's head to fall to the ground and the body to sink to the ground and the blood to flow, Sienna was overcome with a great wave of despair. She had dropped her blade and clutched her chest as if she was in great pain. Teal went to her, calling for help.

Instead of help they were overrun with more enemies.

"Sienna!" he called out to her. She had falling to her knees in Jade's cooling blood refusing to move and defend herself. Teal took up the role of protector, but it was only one of him and it seemed like hundreds of them, but that was only because he was tiring fast.

"Sienna!" he called again, but she gave no answer.

* * *

Teal doesn't know how he managed to keep Sienna from harm, but as he dispatched the last enemy (turns out it was only ten Angels he had to contend with) he had turned his back on her. When he turned back to her he saw a man in a dark suit standing behind her. He had Sienna's blade in his hand and was casually examining it.

"Hmph, I always thought she was soft," he sighed, "Although I was positive that the little demon Jade would be able to kill her," he said reflectively. He tossed the weapon away and said "Then again, this bitch has survived up until this point. Teal come here and kill her."


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Win = Lose

Teal couldn't move. This man wasn't his master, but he had the same authority over Teal. Teal felt like he was choking. The longer he hesitated the worse he felt; like he would die if he didn't follow orders. The urge to let go of control and just do as he was told was strong. He didn't want to kill Sienna. She was his friend and he wanted to keep her safe. A war of thoughts began in his mind.

" _Kill her and you would be free."_

" _No, I don't want to."_

" _You have to. You must!"_

" _True freedom means doing what I want, and I don't want to kill her. She's my friend!"_

" _You'll get punished if you don't. Do you want to be punished?"_

" _No!"_

" _Then kill HER!"_

" _NO!"_

" _Why do I have to?"_

" _Because, you've been ordered to."_

"But I don't want to?"

"Why?"

And on, and on his thoughts went, until it got too much for him. He decided to do nothing and refused to do anything.

The master kept ordering Teal to kill, but to no avail. Once he saw Teal shut down completely, he was furious.

"How dare you refuse!" he exclaimed. He kicked the still kneeling Sienna out of his way and stomped over to Teal, picking the boy up by the throat by one hand.

"Fallen Angels get punished!" then he shook Teal like a lifeless doll. Not receiving the response he wanted from Teal, he threw him down on the ground hard and proceeded to stomp Teal's body.

Teal didn't cry or try to protect himself. He felt the pain, but he came to the conclusion that if the master kept his attention on him, then Sienna could escape. His bones broke and he spit up blood, but he let the man take out his frustration out on him. A sense of peace washed over him as he lost consciousness. Before he was swallowed up by the darkness he saw a shadow cross the man and someone call his name.

* * *

Meanwhile onboard the ship the Straw Hats were fighting furiously. They had witnessed Sienna and Teal attack Jade, but before they could follow they heard a loud gurgling noise, signaling the arrival of the Heart Pirates submarine.

Zoro immediately drew his swords and jumped from the Sunny to the sub, almost losing his footing on a slippery surface. As soon as he landed he was attack by an Angel. This one was weaker than Teal and he was able to easily subdue them. Then another one tried to catch him unawares but Brook intervened.

"For some reason feel guilty about attacking them," he said breathlessly while in the midst of parrying an attack.

"Just use the back of your sword. I am," Zoro responded, "these ones are weak."

"I see," Brook said.

"Their strength is in numbers. There's so many of them," interjected Robin. Her, and Chopper had joined the swordsmen on the Sub. Nami, Usopp and Franky stayed on the Sunny but they were under siege as well.

"Where's Luffy?" Zoro yelled.

"He went on ahead with Sanji," Chopper said while pointing to the door that led below where more Angels appeared.

"Just how many can fit down there?" Brook asked incredulously. He had already knocked out ten of them and was working on his eleventh.

"It doesn't matter, we gotta keep fighting!" Zoro said.

Not tiring the crew kept fighting. Unfortunately they heard a whistle and the ones that were knocked down got back up.

"SERIOUSLY!" the Straw Hats exclaimed.

"Well, you didn't think you could actually stop them without killing them," said a dark suited man. In his hand was something that looked like a dog whistle. "I wouldn't say these toys are weak. No, not weak, but untrained. Since our training facility was trashed, thanks to you all, this generation has to learn less efficiently than their predecessors." Then he went brought the whistle to his mouth again and blew. The sound reverberated through the Angels. Then he said, "Come," and he left the ship, headed towards the island, taking a few Angels with him.

The crew made to follow him, but there were still a lot more Angels in their way. Their fight continued.

* * *

Luffy and Sanji quickly dispatched the Angels in their path, but didn't stop. They left things to their friends above and descended into the Sub.

The Sub was a lot bigger than it looked and somehow they missed Sienna's master has he headed up. They started down one corridor and began opening doors, looking for Law or any of his crewmates.

"There's got to be a way to find them, that's easier then searching the whole ship," Sanji said after opening his third door.

Luffy stopped in the middle of hallway and in Luffy-like fashion he took a deep breath and yelled "TRA-GUY!" loudly.

"How was that helpful?" Sanji scolded Luffy, but Luffy's yelled did the trick and they heard a muffled "In here," down a hallway to their right. They rushed down and came upon a hospital room.

Inside were all the Heart Pirates in various states of illness. They all looked near death and only Law was able to stand (barely) and he was doing his best to take care of his crew.

"Tra-guy, what happened?" Luffy asked as he tried to help steady Law.

"Some…sort of virus…th-they in-in-in…"he started to cough. Sanji and Luffy got him to a bed and laid him on it, telling him to stay still.

"I'll go get Chopper," Sanji said and he turned to go.

"Wait," Law said and he tried to get up. Luffy put an arm on his chest and kept him from rising.

"Let us take care of things, we know the enemy better than you do," he said.

"I don't think you do," said another dark suited man who appeared in the doorway. He blocked the exit. "If you did, then we wouldn't be as formidable as we are," she said. Sanji didn't care who this man was and he decided to keep moving forward.

The man put a hand out to stop Sanji. In a low dangerous voice, Sanji said, "I suggest you move" and he stood staring the man, daring him to do something. It seemed as if a million years had passed while Sanji and the man had their stare down. The man was the first to look away.

"Okay, I guess I have no choice," said the man, "Let's do this!" He attacked Sanji first with a punch. Sanji crossed his arms to block, and then he leapt back far enough to send a kick to the man sending him to the cramped hallway. Sanji kicked the man again, but he dodged and fled the hallway. Sanji followed. Luffy told Law that he would be back and ran after them.

* * *

On the submarine's deck, the rest of the crew finally managed to subdue all the Angels. They were sore and bruised and instead of just knocked the Angels out, Franky suggested tying them up. Using the same device that they got Teal with, they captured all of their enemies and were in the process of transporting them onto the Sunny when another dark suited man appeared.

He hesitated a second and took in the scene before him. His hesitation gave Sanji time to catch up to him and he attack the man and their intense fight continued.


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43: Light in the Darkness

Sienna was overcome with grief for Jade and for herself. She had promised herself that she wouldn't kill again, but the realization that she had brutally killed Jade overwhelmed her. She wanted to cry, to scream, to punish herself.

When her master appeared behind her and ordered Teal to kill her, she felt that he was right. The only way to keep her from killing again was to die.

But, Teal didn't kill her. His decision to do nothing angered her master. He kicked her out of the way, like trash and punished Teal. Sienna felt like trash. She heard the sound of Teal's beating and it triggered a memory for her.

She was three years old and was ordered to jump a off a fifty meter wall and land on her feet below. She failed spectacularly and her tiny body was broken. Her master refused to let her heal until she could jump and land perfectly.

Another memory came.

She was five and had a mission to kill an important politician in the West Blue. She succeeded in killing the politician but left his family alone, choosing not to kill them. Her master punished her for leaving potential witnesses, even though he never ordered her to kill them.

He called her trash, told her she was nothing and often said that she was worth more to him dead. She failed time after time, and finally stopped listening to him and making her own choices. Finding Ace and Luffy changed her world and her outlook on life.

Her master had always been a cruel human being. Why should he live and not Jade? She was made to be what she was. He chose to be.

She remembered her conversation with Sanji on Winterlandia and how he told her that she was fragile and had given up before the fight began. Well the fight was ending, will she give up now?

"HELL NO!" she thought and she stood up.

Her master was preoccupied with beating Teal so he didn't notice when Sienna grabbed her blade and used it to stab him in the back right through the heart. He died with a look of shock on his face. She didn't remove her spear from his back, letting him keel over until his corpse leaned on the weapon.

She dropped down next to Teal.

"Teal," she called as she surveyed his body. Some of his wounds were already healing but he was unconscious. She felt he was okay enough to move and picked him up and started carrying him towards the Sunny. She told herself that she would be back for her blade.

* * *

Luffy and Sanji tagged teamed the man. He wasn't weak but he seemed distracted and not fully focused on the fight at hand. Sanji and Luffy were able to sense where the man would attack and stop him easily.

"Luffy! A guy dressed like him went to island where Sienna and Teal are!" yelled Franky.

"He had this whistle thing and was able to control them somehow," Chopper said as he finished tying up a group of incapacitated Angels.

"That guy always felt he needed force," said the man, pausing his fight with Luffy and Sanji. "He always loses his angels though. He's too tough and they don't usually survive with him." He sighed, "look, I would to stay here and fight, but I need to get my son before he does something reckless."

"Who's your son?" Luffy asked. He was confused by this man's behavior and lowered his guard. Sanji didn't (nor the others) lower his and kept a keen eye on their enemy.

He made a sweeping hand moment and replied, "Teal, of course!" He had a jubilant look about him that unnerved Sanji. Sanji thought his demeanor was familiar. _"This man is just like Lady. Are they all insan_ e?" he wondered.

The man brought his arms together and hugged himself as he said, "I've known him since before he was born! He's my little Teal! So precious, and deadly. See here," and he took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves showing off a multitude of scars, "my little boy did this to me. Ha! See how awesome he is! He's so great to bless me with his bloody kisses!" Then he took out a knife and started to cut more of his arms. "Oh Teal, please come back to me!" he whined. Then his temperament changed. He took that knife and stood in a defensive manner, still with blood flowing down his arms.

"You know, he's only here because of that wicked bitch Sienna!" he said challenging. "But, she'll be dead soon and my Teal will be to. It's her fault that he has to die!"

"I think if you care for Teal, you wouldn't let him die," explained Sanji. With a nod to Luffy, they began to close in on the man, treating him like a skittish animal.

"But he has to. While I'm alive, he has to. I will only continue to make him kill. Don't you see, either I die or he does. Well, since my partner is after him, we'll both probably die." With a look of pure rapture, he said, "I must kill you and then Teal will come back to me!"

"Really? If this is your rationale, I wouldn't go back to you either," Luffy expressed, fully understanding Teal's fascination with Sienna. She actually cares for him and doesn't expect him to interpret insanity. "Look, we don't have time for this," he was concerned for Law and Sienna and Teal, "let's just take him out. Chopper and Nami go below and check on Tra-guy. Everyone else, go help Sienna and Teal. Leave this guy to Sanji and me."

"RIGHT!" and his crew hurried to obey.

* * *

Making sure his hat was secure, Luffy went into Second gear. Sanji prepared his Diable Jambe, scorching the deck of the submarine. Their enemy attacked first, going after Luffy. Luffy dodged to the side and Sanji kicked out, sending the man flying over the water. Sanji used Blue Walk to reach the man before he fell in and kicked him back towards Luffy. Luffy punched him, slamming his face onto the deck. The man laid there unmoving.

"Did we get him?" asked Sanji, returning to the deck.

"I didn't think he would be this easy," said Luffy transforming back. He started for the man. _"How could Tra-guy be beaten by this guy?"_ Luffy wondered. When he got close, he bent to check the man.

Surprisingly the man wasn't out for the count. As soon as Luffy touched him, a grayish smoke started to waft from him. Luffy instinctively moved back and Sanji covered his nose and mouth. "Is this some sort of Devil Fruit Power?" he asked.

"No," coughed the man as he tried to get up. "I…mu…must have fell...have fell…fallen on this," he held up a small canister. He couldn't talk after that, but he managed to throw the still smoking canister into the water. The wind blew the smoke away but it was too late for the man. He coughed until he couldn't catch his breath and he suffocated.

"Well that was anti-climatic," said Luffy as him and Sanji watched the man die from a safe distance.

"I think I prefer it this way," said Sanji. His thoughts went straight to dinner. He so needed a cigarette.

"Seriously, Tra-guy got captured by that guy?" Luffy said incredulously.

"I think whatever was in that canister got him. Add that to how many Angels," Sanji said waving a hand to indicate the bound Angels, "yeah don't think too lowly of him. He doesn't have an Angel for a girlfriend," Sanji ended. Then he stalked off towards the submarine's entrance. "I'm going to help Chopper," he said and disappeared inside.

Luffy wondered what was wrong with Sanji, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. The crew was coming back and they were carrying Teal and Sienna and both looked very injured.


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Moving On

Robin spotted Sienna before the others. She was struggling, trying to carry Teal and walk. She was exhausted and felt she could sleep for a thousand years. Luckily for her, her friends caught up with her and Franky grabbed Sienna while Robin carried Teal and they rushed back to the Sunny.

"Luffy!" Franky yelled. They saw Sanji walk away and knew the fight was over. Luffy heard them and jumped off the sub, landing on the island and running up to them.

"How is she?" he asked worriedly.

"She said, she was fine when we found her, although Chopper will need to look over them both," said Franky handing her over to Luffy.

"He's taking care of Tra-guy and his crew. Let's get her on the Sunny, and when Chopper's done we can leave." He was tired of this island. As he turned to go he finally asked where Brook, Zoro and Usopp were.

"They're burying the dead," Robin said.

"Franky go back and tell them to stop. We need them back on the ship, we're leaving soon," Luffy ordered.

"I would, but Sienna asked them to. It seemed very important to her," Franky said.

"I understand that you want to leave as soon as possible, but it wouldn't be beneficial to Sienna or Teal," said Robin.

Luffy thought about for a second and said, "Alright, we'll stay until Sienna is ready to go," he conceded.

* * *

Sanji found Nami and Chopper working hard. Nami had used her Clima-takt to air out the room and Chopper had all the Heart pirates on beds and was working on a cure. Law had managed tell Chopper what he suspected the virus was before Chopper told him to rest.

"Sanji! Why are you here?" he asked while in the middle of combining various herbs.

"The fight is over. I came to help," he responded. He didn't bother going into detail. Chopper noticed Sanji's sour demeanor but didn't comment on it.

"Okay," said Chopper and he started giving out orders for Sanji to go look for sterile bandages and assist Nami in cleaning the various wounds.

It didn't take long for the cure to be made and dispersed.

"Whew!" Chopper sighed, "They should be fine now." He was tired, but knew that his job wasn't done. Robin had come to tell him that Teal and Sienna were back on the Sunny and they needed him. He left Sanji and Nami to watch over the Hearts and went to treat his favorite Angels' injuries.

* * *

"What's wrong?" Nami asked frankly once Chopper left. They both sat near the door in order to keep a lookout.

"Nothing," Sanji responded tersely.

"Don't give me that," Nami said fiercely.

"Nami, drop it" Sanji said just as fiercely. He didn't want to talk, but he at least tried to keep from snapping. He was angry, but at what and at whom was something even he didn't know. Cooking would calm him down, but he couldn't leave Nami by herself.

Law stirred and woke up. He tried to sit up and Nami helped him up.

"Thanks," he said hoarsely.

"You should really sleep. We got this," she said.

"I'm good thanks to the Doctor-ya," he said.

"So tell us. How did you get capture by these guys?" Sanji asked.

"Sanji!" Nami admonished.

"It's fine," Law said. He took a second to think then he began, "I guess it was because we were being heroes instead of pirates. We saw this little girl, who turned out to be Jade. She was badly injured and her 'father' looked in worse shape. He didn't make it. I don't think he was meant to," he said thoughtfully, "Not sure who he was, but he was just a means to an end. Jade was hurt pretty badly and we brought her on board to help her. She moved too fast and before we knew it she had trapt us with the sub and unleashed this airborne virus. I tried to protect the crew and but putting up a Room but Jade attacked me," he took a breath and continued, "What the hell is she?"

"Are you sure you want to know?" Sanji asked. "In this case, ignorance is bliss."

Law thought about and asked, "Is she gone?"

"Yeah," Nami answered.

"Then I'm fine not knowing," he said.

"On behalf of Luffy, We're Sorry," Sanji said and he bowed his head. "You were only targeted because of us."

Law didn't respond, but he shrugged.

Nami took that as a positive sign and her thoughts turned to Sienna and how she was fairing.

* * *

Chopper bandaged and set Teal's broken bones. His was already starting to heal on his own so Chopper made sure that his bones healed properly. Sienna had an extensive amount of bruising so Robin helped her take a cold bath to bring the swelling down. Chopper gave them both a pain reliever and recommended they sleep. Secretly, Chopper was glad that compared to the Heart pirates, the Angels were easier to treat. Luffy told him to rest and he went into the boy's dorm and slept.

Robin helped Sienna dress in something comfortable and escorted her to the girls' dorm. Teal was in Chopper's office. He hadn't come to, but Robin assured her that he was okay. On the way Robin saw that Brook, Usopp and Zoro had returned and were talking with Luffy and Franky. She caught Luffy's eye and tried to silently communicate to him that he needed to talk with Sienna. He didn't get the message.

Sienna was despondent and wouldn't talk. Robin didn't press her. She got her into bed and made sure she was comfortable before excusing herself to go find Luffy. She found him still huddle with the other guys.

"Captain, may I speak with you privately?" she asked.

Luffy agreed and they went to the other side of ship.

"You need to talk to Sienna. I suspect that something more happened than just a fight," she told him.

Luffy sighed and asked, "How?"

"How what?" she asked.

"How do I talk to her?" he said in frustration. He realized that he hadn't been very attentive to her. He had expected a lot from her in the last few days, and he was focused on helping Law. He felt guilty that he hadn't taken into account the aftermath before now.

"Just go to her and be you. What she needs is you."

With that word of encouragement, Luffy went to Sienna.

* * *

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she responded. She was tired; that pain reliever was kicking in, and at the moment just wanted to sleep and never wake up.

Luffy took in her tired appearance and decided that lying down and cuddling with her to be the best action. She scooted over and rearranged herself to make them both comfortable, practically hugging him. He pulled the blanket over them both. It didn't take long before they fell asleep.


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Angel Tears

Luffy's stomach woke him up. He was starving. He wanted to get up and find some food, but the sleeping Angel next to him made him stay. She looked so fragile while asleep. He wanted to keep her just like this and he pulled her closer to him. They were already squished together in the bed built for one, but he felt like there was a huge distance between them. _"What happened to you?"_ he thought. Since Teal arrived, Luffy knew she had changed and he was worried that he would lose her again. For now he took this opportunity to be with her, while he could.

* * *

As second-in-command, Zoro took charge of the crew. He had Chopper stay with Teal and sleep. He had Usopp and Franky bring all the captured Angels to the Sunny and lock them up in the Aquarium bar, seeing how there wasn't much damage they could do in there. Without the masters controlling them they were cooperative, almost docile. They hadn't sustained any lasting damage during the fighting, so Chopper didn't need to check them out. Robin and Nami (once the Heart pirates didn't need her anymore) supervised them and turned their captivity into a sleepover, with Brook providing the entertainment.

Sanji gathered provisions from the sub and combined it with the ones on the Sunny. He spent hours cooking; mostly to avoid talking to the others. Zoro let him alone and spent time talking with Law and coordinating a plan in case more enemies appear.

The day ended with no further incidents and Zoro posted himself in the Observation Deck to wait out the night.

* * *

Later that night, Sienna had a nightmare about Jade. She dreamed that Jade was being dragged to hell in chains and had reached out and grabbed her taking her along. Sienna had fought to be released and ended up fighting Luffy, pushing him out of the bed and away from her.

"Sienna! Are you okay? Pull yourself together!" Luffy exclaimed from the floor.

Sienna woke up, breathing hard. She took a few seconds to catch her breath and acclimate herself (she had forgotten where she was). Once she saw Luffy on the floor she apologized profusely.

"I'm so sorry," she said as she tried to untangle herself from the blankets. She was very clumsy and moved too fast and the blankets became more tangled, reminding her of the nightmare. She started to panic and in between apologies her breath and heart rate quickened and she started to cry.

Luffy grabbed her face, saying, "Look at me and breathe."

She nodded and said, "I'm sorry," again.

"No need to apologize, just breathe."

"I'm sorry," she said again not slowing down her breathing.

Luffy tried to untangle her and keep her focus on him and breathing, but she kept crying. Eventually she started to fight him (all the while saying I'm sorry over and over) and Luffy knew he wasn't helping but making things worse. He left the room yelling for Sanji.

Sanji rushed out of the kitchen and said, "What's up?"

"Sienna needs your help," Luffy said resolutely.

Sanji didn't hesitate.

* * *

"I'm Sorry! I'm So Sorry!" Sienna shouted. She kept trying to free herself of the blankets when Luffy left the room and in her panic induced fight with the blankets she ended up on the floor. She was face down on the floor, quivering with fear.

"Okay, what are you sorry about," Sanji said calmly as he got on the floor next to her.

Luffy sat crossed legged on the floor near the door and kept silent. Sienna was mostly tangled now, but she had her arms free. She used them to cover her head as she cried. Sanji made to help remove some of the blankets but didn't follow through. He didn't want to frighten her. He gave her a few more minutes before he asked her again.

"Sienna, what are you sorry for?" he asked gently.

"For killing Jade!" she choked out.

"But why? If you hadn't she would have killed you and us. That's for certain," he said slowly.

"I…" Sienna started but stopped to catch her breath. Now that she was on the floor her delusion was receding. She realized that what she thought were chains, were blankets and that she wasn't been dragged to hell by Jade. She suddenly felt stupid and ashamed. These feelings didn't help her and more tears came. She felt like apologizing again.

"I don't know," she said finally, "maybe because I really tried not to." She had sat up and was now free of the blankets. She used them to wipe her face, feeling tired of crying. "I know what she would have done. I know that she couldn't be…what's the word…hmm?" she asked thoughtfully.

"Redeemed?" Sanji suggested.

"Umm that would imply that she was 'bad'. She was just a product of her environment."

"Well what about you? Or Teal? Did you not have the same environment as her?" Luffy interjected.

"Teal and I are unique," she said.

"The other Angels onboard aren't like Jade. Right now, Robin is telling them fairy tales they'll go to sleep," Sanji said. "I highly doubt that Jade would have listened to a bed time story."

"No matter what you think of her, there is no way today would have ended the way it did if you hadn't killed Jade. Don't be sorry. You saved us all," Luffy said.

Having a philosophical discussion about Jade's disposition really helped Sienna take her mind off of her disturbing dream. She decided to just forget the dream and accept the fact that she had killed Jade and would atone for it later. She'd realized that she was in a room alone with Sanji and Luffy. Thoughts about what this could mean made her blush. Funny how that worked out; one minute she's freaking out because of guilt, the next she's feeling…mischievous. Deciding that she needed a bath and to be a good girl, she kicked them both out.

* * *

"Wait…was she blushing?" Sanji asked as him and Luffy crossed the deck towards the kitchen.

"I don't know…but I'm starving. Sanji feed me," Luffy implored.


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46: I choose

The next morning dawned bright and noisy. Sienna didn't go back to sleep after her bath and since Zoro was up she asked him to spar. They had woken up most of the crew and their guests. Now everyone was watching the sparring session. Forgoing the traditional breakfast route, Sanji made easy to eat appetizers and was serving them with Chopper's and Teal's help.

The sparring session turned into a mini tournament and was moved to the island. Bepo from the Heart pirates joined in as well as Brook who wanted to impress his new little brothers and sisters, Franky who was feeling extra SUPER today, and Luffy, because why not.

Sienna backed out using the excuse that it was unfair since she was the only girl. In reality the notion of fighting on this island after everything that had happened was getting to her and she had about as much as she could take.

Since things were uneven they convinced Sanji (more like Zoro riled him up) to participate.

The lineup was selected. Zoro verses Brook. Sanji verses Bepo. Luffy verses Franky.

* * *

Handicaps were agreed upon and each pair decided on their own rules and match style. Somehow Law was reluctantly brought in to be the judge. He thought the whole thing was stupid and wanted to be on his way since they were in no immediate danger. His crew whined and called him heartless and refused to do anything he said. He had no choice but to go along with this.

* * *

Bets were made.

"My money's on Zoro," Usopp announced.

"What money? Because you still owe me from Shell," Nami said shrewdly.

"Yeah…about that," Usopp began nervously but he didn't get a chance. Nami had an evil look in her eyes, but luckily one of the Angels interfered and Usopp had the chance to make his escape.

"I haven't had this much fun since Foxy's Davy Back Game," said Robin as she lounged in a deck chair, happy that she didn't have to anything. Some of the Angels emulated her laid back attitude. The others took to either following Nami like little ducklings or cheering on big brother Brook.

* * *

Seeing everyone like this made Sienna so happy. She practically squealed with one of them called her big sister Sienna and had no qualms about overfeeding them sweets. "This is called chocolate! It's so yummy! Try it!" Soon she had almost all the Angels hyped up on sugar, (Robin's fans preferred not to eat sweets).

* * *

Match one: Zoro verses Brook in Wave Slicing. Using their swords they had to make a powerful enough slice to part the water. They got three slices. They were judged on how far the split went, how high the waves went and overall technique.

The match went to Brook. He went first and his flashy technique of freezing the water after his last slice distracted Zoro causing him to mess up.

"You bag of bones! You're a CHEATER!" he yelled.

"Can't blame me for _**freezing**_ out the competition, YOHOHOHOHO!" Brook laughed as he danced away.

"You lost moss-head, now move out of way so we can start," Sanji said scathingly.

"Don't start with me curly-brow!" Zoro quipped.

"What!" Sanji started toward Zoro, but before the fight began, Law interjected, "Enough! Can we move on please?!"

* * *

Match two: Bepo verses Sanji in a no-hands fight. They had a room provided by Law and first one to be pushed out lost. This match didn't last long.

The match went to Bepo. Zoro had gone on board and with a bit of cunning he manipulated Sienna into cheering for Sanji. Sanji was distracted by his sweet Si-chan that he wasn't able to block Bepo's strong kick and he ended up outside of the room.

Of course he wasn't mad at Sienna, but Zoro was a different matter all together. Nami reined them in before the fight got serious.

* * *

Match three: Luffy verses Franky. Somehow, Franky convinced Luffy that their match should be a pose-off and the audience would choose the winner. Besides being the goofiest contest ever, it was also the longest of the three.

The audience was having too much fun. They couldn't decide at first and then Usopp urged everyone to think of funny poses they want the contestants to do.

"We want to see Robo-Franky in a pirouette!"

"We want Bounce Man!"

"No, go third gear and be a giant!"

"Franky, turn into a tank!

The requests got more ridiculous as time passed until the contestants passed out from exhaustion. Law was done and walked off to go have tea. With the contest undecided the choice was left up to Sienna ("Why me?!").

"So who won?" Both Franky and Luffy asked.

"Ummm…" Sienna said unsure. She didn't like that she was put on the spot like this. She would rather pig out on chocolate then judge this match.

"You can pick another contest for us to do, since you can't decide," Luffy said, believing that Sienna would pick an easy contest for him.

Being malicious the others egged her on.

"Yeah, pick another contest," Usopp sniggered.

"Pick something your boyfriend can win at," Law said.

"Hey!" Sienna and Sanji exclaimed.

"Take that back!" Sanji implored Law while Sienna blushed. Law ignored him, as he tried to pick a fight.

Fighting embarrassment, Sienna shouted, "Fine I chose Franky!"

…

"Seriously!"


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47: Full Circle

After the contest that he lost, Luffy's enthusiasm waned. His (sour) attitude didn't affect anyone else. The crew may have been surprised by Sienna's choice, but they celebrated in traditional Straw Hat style: a huge feast and more games. His demeanor didn't affect his ability to eat though. Even in a bad mood, Luffy will never go hungry.

The sun had started to set when Law finally put his foot down and dragged his crew back to their sub, fully determined to leave. While he loved the Straw Hats, he could only take their craziness in small doses. Luffy chose to sulk instead of seeing the Heart Pirates off. He did give a half-hearted wave.

"You could at least be more polite," Nami scolded.

Luffy's response was to stick his tongue out at her.

"Oh! Real mature!" Nami said.

"How could she not pick me?" he whined to her.

"I don't know. Maybe you should ask her?" Nami responded.

"Ummm…" Luffy thought about her suggestion. Nami was exasperated by his need to "think" about talking to Sienna. "Look, dumbass! She went to the island, a short while ago. Go talk to her or I swear I'll drown you!" she said through clenched teeth. Then she literally threw him off the ship. Lucky for him he landed on the island, but he left his hat behind.

"At least give me my hat!" he yelled.

Nami held his hat in her hand and told him that she would hold on to it until he came back. Luffy had no choice but to do as she said, and he stalked off, mumbling under his breath something that rhymed with witch.

It didn't take him long to catch up to Sienna. He then realized that he had been focused on himself and had failed to wonder why Sienna was on the island. He had came upon her kneeling on the graves of her enemies. She looked so beautiful in a macabre sort of way. He understood why she was there and had concluded that he was being petty and that leaving her alone was best.

As he turned, she said, "Don't go." She looked at him then. "Where's your hat?" she asked.

By habit, he reached up for missing hat and said, "Nami is holding it hostage."

"What did you do?" she asked suspiciously.

"Be an ass," he answered truthfully.

"Oh," she said. Then she said, "For what it's worth, I couldn't judge between you two. You both were great! I only picked him because I didn't want to look like I favored you." Then she went from kneeling to sitting.

"Why?" he asked. He came and sat next to her.

"Because…" she began and paused, "because I may not always choose you."

"Choose me for what?" he asked, keeping his voice neutral. He didn't like where the conversation was going.

"I've been told that I have to choose between you and Sanji…" she began but Luffy interrupted her, "Let's not talk about that right now. Tell me how you're feeling being here," he said, indicating the graves.

"I'm fine thanks to everyone," she answered, "But…"

"Great! What do you think of Law?" he asked.

"Law is cool. I really like the fact that he doesn't interrupt me and change the subject when we talk," she said a little peeved and his obvious stalling.

"I just prefer not to hear that you choose Sanji over me right now, okay" he said sadly.

"Umm, that's not what I wanted to tell you," she said sheepishly.

"So, you choose me over him," Luffy said excitedly.

Sienna sighed and said, "No."

"Then what are you trying to tell me?" he asked dejectedly.

Sienna didn't answer right away. She knew what she had wanted to say, but how to say it was difficult. Being at the graves helped her resolve, and she hoped that Luffy would be able to understand.

"I've thought a lot about my future and what I wanted to do," she said, "and finding the One Piece is not my goal. I had hoped that I would be content with helping you find it, but I don't think I would find any fulfillment in that."

"What are saying?" Luffy asked hesitantly.

"I'm saying that I don't believe I can follow you to Raftel. At least, not now. Maybe our paths will cross again. Until then I have to say goodbye." Having said this, Sienna felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She was thankful that she didn't cry.

"So…" Luffy cleared his throat, "what will you do then?"

Sienna smiled and said, "I got 21 siblings I need to take care of. Hopefully I'll find more." Then she reached behind her and pulled out a log pose. "Law gave me this. It's to Shell. I think the first thing I'll do is take everyone back to Jorge. Law travels there a lot, we plan to meet up. He's going to help me."

"Help you with what?" Luffy asked.

"Stopping the organization behind the Angels and recovering them. Give them a chance to grow up. I'm sure his motivation for helping is along the lines of defeating the world government, and yada, yada. Point is, I have a mission and I can't be hindered by…"

"Me?" Luffy asked.

"That's not what I meant," she paused to think of the right things to say. "Listen, I love you Luffy. Always have and always will. And," she continued before he could interrupt her again, "I love Sanji. The Straw Hats are my family. You all taught me how to live. Now I need to pass that on to Teal and the others. Do you understand?"

"Y-yessss," said a tearful Luffy. He didn't want her to leave. But he understood why she needed to. "So as your captain I forbid you from leaving the crew," he said determinedly.

"I wouldn't want it any other way," she said, happy that she was still an official Straw Hat.

"You can say that I'm destined to do this," she said determinedly. "Now," she said as she got up from the ground, "let's go tell the others." She held out her hand to him, but instead of helping himself up, he pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her.

"Let me hold you, just for a little while," he said, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"Okay," she consented and held on just as tight.

Telling the rest of the Straw Hats and Angels went well. The Angels were excited and apprehensive, but they fully trusted Sienna.

The Straw Hats cried, but they all understood what Sienna doing. They decided to help Sienna get started. Nami suggested that they head on to the next island and hopefully they would be able to find supplies. Franky and Usopp vowed to construct a super ship for them and got the Angels together to discuss what kind. Their suggestions bordered on the ridiculous side, but they humored them anyways.

Chopper told her that he would find her a good doctor for them. Nami offered to give her a trunk-load of Berries, which shocked everyone. Sienna responded, "Wow, Nami. That's generous, but I can't accept all this."

"Take it and buy food for these hungry kids with it, okay," Nami said and gave Sienna a big hug. Robin joined in on the hug, saying how much they were going to miss her. Zoro reminded everyone that Sienna wasn't leaving at the moment and to save their goodbyes until she actually leaves. Nami yelled at him to not be jerk and that made Sienna laugh.

Brook felt inspired to put on a show and they sailed from the island to a chorus of Bink's Sake.

In all the hoopla, Sienna didn't get a chance to talk to Sanji. Shortly after her announcement, he had walked off with a cigarette in hand. Sienna saw him go, but her attention was diverted to the others. Once the singing began and Luffy's goofy antics started up, she went in search of him.

She found him smoking outside of Chopper's office, leaning over the railing and looking at the horizon. When he saw her approach, he put out the cigarette.

"Let me guess, Luffy is begging to be fed," he said sardonically.

"No, I came to talk," Sienna answered mildly.

"There's not a lot you can say right now," he said.

"But what about what you want to say to me?" she asked.

"What I want to say, eh?" he said. He thought for a second then said, "There's a lot I want to say, but saying them would make me the bad guy."

Sienna didn't respond.

"I can call you a coward, but you're not," he said, "What you're doing is incredibly brave. They need to be somewhere the government can't get to them again. I just wish that, that safe place was on this ship."

"Me too," she said.

"I'm going to miss you," he said, taking her hand into his.

"I'll miss you too," she said and leaned her head onto his shoulder.

"If I told you I loved you would it make a difference?" he asked.

"I love you Sanji, but I still have to go," she answered. She smiled up at him. "Hey, will you find a good cook for me?" she asked.

"No, you already have one," and he brought his lips to hers.

It took a few days, but they found an island that had everything a newly established crew would need. In their last days upon the Sunny, the Angels learned all they needed to know to keep their ship afloat. They were very adept.

Franky made an awesome ship and the Angels named it the Prism Wing; their Jolly Roger was the Straw Hat with multicolored wings. Chopper didn't find them a good enough doctor (one that wouldn't snitch them out) and Teal pointed out to him that they were going to meet Law and that he was a doctor. That satisfied him to let them go.

The time to set sail was upon them. Vivre cards were passed out and goodbyes were said.

"Don't get killed," Zoro said.

"Keep singing," Brook said.

"Don't spend all your Berries at one place. Always look for the best deal," said Nami.

"Don't forget us," Robin said.

"Make sure you keep these rascals in check," Usopp said tearfully (he was already missing those rascals.)

Franky just cried and tried to strike a cool pose for them.

"Don't make any stops until you get to Law," Chopper implored.

"You got this! I'm proud of you Si-chan," Sanji said.

Luffy placed his hat on his head and simply said, "See you later, Sienna!"


End file.
